Why We Said Goodbye
by HM Writer
Summary: Margaret gets an unexpected phone call from someone. The last three chapters are up. I hope you enjoy the story as much as I enjoyed writing it.
1. bye 1

Why We Said Goodbye

August 1955

Texas

            Margaret Houlihan unlocked the door to her apartment as quickly as she could.  She had her hands full, and could hear her phone ringing inside.  When she got the door open, she ran to the kitchen to get the phone.  She quickly sat the bags down, and picked up the phone.  "Hello," she said breathlessly.

            "Hello," a woman said.  "Is this Margaret Houlihan?"

            "Yes it is," Margaret said as she tried to catch her breath.  She didn't recognize the voice on the other end.  "Can I help you?"

            "My name is Mildred Potter."

            "Mrs. Potter?"  She said in disbelief.  She had never spoken to the woman before.  She hadn't kept in touch with any of her friends since the war ended.

            "Yes," came the confirmation.  "You're a hard woman to track down."

            Margaret was still confused as to why the lady had called her.  She had never met or talked to the woman before.  "Yeah, well I'm not in the army anymore, and most people probably don't know where to find me."

            "Yes I found that out," the woman said.  "I'm calling on behalf of my husband.  He's been asking for you."

            Margaret was worried about the tone in the woman's voice.  "Is something wrong?"

            "I'm afraid so.  He had a heart attack about a week ago."

            Margaret felt her heart drop to her stomach.  She sat down on one of the chairs at the kitchen table.  "Is he okay?"

            Mildred heard the panic in the young woman's voice.  "We're not sure yet.  He's still in the hospital, but he may be able to come home in the next few days.  He's been asking for you, honey.  Do you think you could come and see him?"

            Margaret didn't even have to think.  "Of course I will."

            "You are a hard person to get a hold of.  It took me four days to get your number, and two days just to get you to answer the phone."

            "Well I almost missed it.  I just walked in the door."

            "You must be a busy lady," the woman said.  She had heard about Margaret and had heard what a hard worker the woman was.

            "Yes I am," Margaret said.  "I'm usually very busy during the week."

            "I'll tell Sherman that I got a hold of you.  He'll be very happy to hear that.  Do you know when you'll be able to make it here?"

            "Well, as soon as I can get a flight out of here I'll be there.  I'll get a hotel room when I get there, and I'll call you to find out where to go."

            "Oh no.  You'll be staying with me."

            "I can't do that," she said.  It was nice of the woman to offer, but she didn't feel right about it.

            "I insist.  I don't want you to stay at a hotel.  You're like a daughter to Sherman, and he made me promise when I got a hold of you, you would stay at our house."

            "That's a really nice offer, but trust me; it would be easier for me to stay at a hotel.  I'll have my daughter with me."

            Mildred smiled.  She didn't know that the major had a daughter.  That would explain why Margaret was no longer in the army.  "I love children.  She's more than welcome in my home.  How old is she?"

            "Seventeen months," Margaret answered.  "Are you sure you don't mind?"

            "No," Mildred said.  "Sherman would throw a fit if he knew that you and your daughter were staying at a hotel."

            "Okay," Margaret said with a smile.  "I have to go pick her up right now, so I'll have to let you go."  Mildred gave Margaret her home address and phone number.  They got all the information traded, and Mildred promised to have a crib in Margaret's room for the baby.

            Margaret left her house and went to pick up her daughter.  Emily was at the sitters for the day.  Margaret worked five days a week, and since she was a single mom, the little girl had to go to a sitter.  Two days a week Emily was with her grandmother, but the other three she was with a sitter.  Margaret would have loved to stay home with her baby, but that wasn't an option for her.

            Margaret walked in the door with her curly blonde headed daughter on her hip.  She gave the baby a kiss, and put her down.  "Momma has some phone calls to make.  You be a good girl and play for a while."  Emily smiled at her mother and then toddled over to a pile of her toys.  Margaret had the house baby proofed, and didn't have to worry much about what Emily could get into.

            Margaret went to the kitchen and started making phone calls to find a flight for her and her daughter.  When she had that done, she called her work, the sitter, and her mother.  Margaret's mother lived there in Texas and that was the main reason that Margaret chose to live there.

            Margaret was sitting at the table talking to her mother when Emily walked over to her.  She held her hands up to her mother.  Margaret picked her up and sat her on her lap.  Emily sat there for a minute while Margaret talked, but then got fussy.  "Just a minute," she said to her daughter.

            Kate could hear her granddaughter and knew what was wrong.  "I'll let you go so you can get her dinner.  Call me when you get to Missouri."

            "I will," she said as she adjusted her squirming daughter.  

            "I love you, and tell my granddaughter I love her too."

            "I will," Margaret smiled.  "I love you," she said and then hung up.  She focused all her attention on her baby.  "That was Grammie and she said she loves you.  Are you hungry?  I bet you are.  It's past your normal dinner time."

            "Oood Momma," the little girl said.

            "I know," Margaret said.  "You sit here," she said putting the child in a highchair.  "Momma will get you some dinner."  Margaret gave the little girl a couple of crackers while she made dinner for the two of them.  She talked to Emily while she prepared a quick dinner.  

            "You and I are going on a trip in the morning.  We're going to go see an old friend of mine.  You're gonna love him, I know you will.  We're going to go on an airplane.  Can you say plane?"

            "Pane."  Emily said with a smile.

            "Very good.  You're going to be a good girl, aren't you?"  Emily shook her head yes making her blonde ringlets bounce.  Margaret smiled at her gorgeous child.  "We'll see how you do with your first plane ride."

            Margaret finished fixing dinner for herself and Emily, and then they ate.  After that, Margaret started getting all of Emily's things together for the trip.  She had learned that although babies are small, they don't pack lightly.  She needed bottles, diapers, a lot of clothes, toys, a certain blanket, and many, many other things.

            Their flight was an early one.  Margaret had a lot to do, and wanted to get some rest.  Normally she would sleep on flights, but she knew that wasn't going to happen with her daughter.  When she finished packing, she put her daughter to bed, and then went to bed herself.  She was very worried about the Colonel, and started feeling guilty for losing touch.


	2. bye 2

IN THE AIR OVER MISSOURI

            "Momma," Emily said.  She was sitting on her mother's lap and looked up at her.  "Dere?"

            "We're almost there," Margaret smiled.  Emily was being very good, but she was getting sick of being on the plane.  "Do you want to sing another song?"  Emily smiled making her curls bounce.  "Okay," her mother said.

            Margaret and Emily song a couple of songs.  Then Margaret read a book to her.  She was very proud of how well behaved her baby girl was being.  There were a couple of other children, her age and older, on the plane that weren't nearly as well behaved as Emily.

            When the plane landed, Margaret carried Emily and her diaper bag off of the plane and into the airport.  This was the first time that she traveled with the baby, and had to find a way to get the luggage and Emily out of the airport and into a cab.  She accomplished it with some help from a baggage attendant and a cart.

            "Here we are," the cab driver said as they pulled up to a house.

            Margaret looked around.  It was a cute little house, with a white fence around it.  Margaret smiled thinking about the time they had the mortgage burning party for the Colonel.  True to his word, it wasn't a picket fence, but a fence that you could sit on. There was a barn in the back and a few beautiful horses out in the meadow.  

            "Momma," Emily said a little nervously.  "Dis?"

            Margaret smiled at the child as they climbed out of the cab.  "This is Colonel Potter's house.  We're going to stay here for a few days."  Margaret put Emily down on the ground and grabbed her hand.  She looked at the cab driver, "Would mind brining the suitcases to the door?"

            The older man smiled, "Gladly."

            "Thank you," Margaret said with a grateful smile.  "Okay baby," she said to her daughter.  "Let's go meet Mrs. Potter."

            Margaret walked up to the door and noticed that there was a note on it addressed to her.  Before she read it, she paid the cab driver.  Then she took the note off of the door, and read what it said.

            _Margaret dear, _

_                        I'm sorry I can't be here.  I had to run to the hospital.  Don't worry, it's not bad news.  Make yourself at home, and feel free to help             yourself to anything in the kitchen.  I should be there by two.  Sorry._

_                                                                        Mildred Potter_

            Margaret looked at her watch; it was only twelve.  "Okay," Margaret said to her daughter.  "I guess we just go in."  She opened the door and Emily went in.  Then she brought the suitcases in and sat them by inside the door.  

            Emily looked up to her mother and held her hands up.  She wasn't too comfortable in strange situations and liked to be as close to her mother as possible.  Margaret picked up her child and looked around.  She saw what she thought she would see.  The living room was filled with pictures of family and friends.  The sofa was also covered in one of the swatches that the Colonel had showed her a few years ago.

            Margaret looked around more than she would have if Mrs. Potter would have been there.  Then she looked at the rest of the rooms on the first floor.  There was a den in there that she assumed was the Colonel's.  He had paintings, and pictures of friends from WWI up to Korea.  Margaret saw a few pictures that made her smile.

            There was one of BJ and Hawkeye goofing off doing God knows what.  There was one of Radar sitting at his desk trying to get someone on the radio.  There was one sitting on the desk of Charles yelling at someone.  The person that he was yelling at was off the camera, but it could have been just about anyone.  Then there was one that caught her attention.  It was of her and Hawkeye.  They were sitting together in the O-club laughing.

            "Momma," Emily said looking at the picture that her mother held.

            Margaret smiled, "That's right."  She placed the picture down on the desk.  "Are you hungry?"  The cubby little blonde shook her head yes.  "Alright.  We'll see what we can find, and then put you down for a nap."

            "No," Emily said shaking her head.  "No nap."

            Margaret smiled and kissed the child on the cheek.  "Yes nap.  Now let's get something to eat."

            Margaret found another note on the kitchen counter telling her what there was to make for lunch.  Emily wasn't picky about what she ate, and Margaret just made something simple to eat.  It was a little strange making herself at home in a person's home that she never met.  After a while she sat down in the living room with her daughter, and got Emily to take a nap.  She laid the child on the couch and covered her up with her blanket.  She had a specific pink blanket that she had to have when she fell asleep.

            A half an hour after Emily fell asleep, Mrs. Potter came home.  Margaret heard her pull into the driveway and stepped out onto the front porch to greet her.  The old woman smiled at her, "Hi.  You have to be Margaret."

            "Yes," Margaret smiled.  "It's nice to meet you," she said shaking the lady's hand.  

            Mildred smiled and hugged Margaret.  "I feel like I already know you.  Sherman is going to be so happy to see you.  Now, where's that little girl?"  She asked as she walked into the house.

            Margaret followed the lady into the house.  "She's right here sleeping on the couch."

            Margaret looked on as Mildred approached the coach.  Emily was lying on her back with her hands above her head and a few blonde curls across her face.  "She's gorgeous," the lady told Margaret.  Emily had fare skin like Margaret, and the same full lips, as well as the blonde hair.  "I bet she has blue eyes under those eyelids."

            "She does," Margaret smiled. 

            "Look at those chubby little cheeks.  I just want to pinch them."  Mildred looked at Margaret.  "You can tell she's your daughter.  Come sit with me in the kitchen."

            Margaret followed the lady and sat down at the kitchen table.  "How is the Colonel doing?"

            "I think he'll be okay.  He's a fighter, but it was touch and go for a while.  When he heard that you were coming, his spirits definitely improved.  He was delighted to hear that you're married and have a little girl."

            "Oh, I'm not married."  Margaret saw the change in the woman's face.  She was used to it now.  It was rare to see a single parent in 1955 America.  "It's a long story."

            "It's none of my business," the woman immediately said.  "That must be the reason you're so busy and difficult to get a hold of."

            Margaret smiled and shook her head yes.  "That would be it.  I wouldn't change a thing, though.  Emily is the best thing that ever happened to me."

            Mildred saw the love in Margaret's eyes, and the way she smiled.  It was easy to see that Margaret was happy with her life.  "I can see that.  So tell me about yourself.  I want to hear all about you."

            Margaret and Mildred had a nice long conversation and got to know each other.  When Emily woke up, she didn't know where she was.  She started to cry until her mother came and picked her up.  Margaret calmed her down and then took her to meet Mrs. Potter.  Emily was shy at first, but warmed up quickly when the old woman gave her a cookie.

            Mildred showed Margaret where her room was, and told her to get settled and freshen up.  They were going to see the Colonel at the hospital, and then go out to dinner.  Margaret didn't care about the dinner, but she was anxious to see the Colonel.  She wanted to see for herself that he was okay, and talk to him. 

            When they got to the hospital, Mildred turned Emily's attention away from her mother, and Margaret snuck off to see the Colonel.  She knocked gently on the door and slowly opened it.

            The Colonel saw her and smiled.  "Margaret, I was beginning to think you fell off the face of the earth."

            Margaret smiled and gave the man a kiss on the cheek and a gentle hug.  "I'm still here, sir."

            "Well I'm glad to see that," he smiled.  "Have a seat.  Did you meet the Mrs.?"

            "Yes, she's as lovely as you said she was."  Margaret looked him over and felt very sad.  "What happened?"

            "I didn't listen to the doctor.  Let me give a piece of advice.  Always listen to your doctor.  They know what they're talking about."

            "I will," she promised.  "How are you feeling?"

            "I've been better, but I'm better than I was.  I'm so glad that you could come.  I had Mildred calling all over for four days before she finally found you."  
  


            "I'm sorry I didn't keep in touch.  So much happened when I got home, and…"

            The Colonel held his hand up.  "You don't need to explain, Major.  I knew that if I ever needed you, you would come, and you did.  I hear that you're married and have a daughter," he changed the subject.

            "I do have a daughter," she smiled.  "But I'm not married."

            "Oh," he said puzzled.  "I heard you had a little girl, and I just assumed you were married.  I'm sorry."

            "It's okay," she said.  "It happens all the time.  It's just me and Emily, and I love it," she smiled.  "We have each other, and that's all we need."

            The Colonel smiled.  "So the tough Major Houlihan is a mother, huh?  I've got to see that.  You'll have to sneak her in here so I can meet her."

            "I'll try.  Maybe if you get out of here soon enough you can meet her at your house.  She loves your wife.  The first thing she did was give Emily a cookie.  All you have to do with that little girl is offer her a snack, and she'll be your friend forever."  The Colonel laughed.  "She's like a puppy."

            "She sounds like a good kid.  I'm happy to see that you didn't forget to have a happy life."

            Margaret chuckled.  "I probably would have, but when I found out I was pregnant I was forced to give up my army career.  If it wasn't for Emily, I would still be looking for happiness in a career."

            "It was a good thing she came along then."

            "It was a very good thing.  So, tell me how you're feeling."

            The Colonel gave Margaret the medical report like he knew she wanted.  Then they sat down as friends and filled each other in on the last two years.  The Colonel had fully retired from being a doctor.  He would occasionally fix up his grandchildren when they scraped their knees, but for the most part he made time up to his wife.

            They decided to stay home with each other and enjoy their home.  That's not something he did much.  When they were first married, they traveled all over the country living on different army bases.  The Colonel spent a lot of time away from home, and wanted to spend time at home.  He had traveled all over the world, and was done with that.

            Margaret and the Colonel were talking and laughing about the past, when Margaret heard a cry.  It sounded like it was coming from her daughter.  She looked at her watch and realized that she and the Colonel had been talking for two hours.  As the cry became louder, Margaret knew it was her daughter.

            "That's Emily," she told the Colonel.  She stood up, "I better go see what's going on."  Just then the door opened and Mildred came in holding Emily in her arms.  "What's the matter?"  Margaret asked walking over.

            "Momma," Emily cried and held her hands out.

            Margaret took her from Mrs. Potter, and Emily laid her head down.  Mildred looked at the concerned young mother and smiled.  "She's alright.  She's been fine.  We were outside, and she fell down and scraped her knee.  Nothing seemed to calm her down, so the nurses let me bring her in."

            "Oh," Margaret said rubbing her daughter's back.  "What's the matter?"  She asked her daughter.  

            Emily picked her head up, "Boo boo," she cried.

            Margaret held her so that she could see the little girl's knee.  "Poor little girl.  Do you want me to kiss it and make it all better?"  Emily shook her head yes and lifted her knee up as best as she could.  Margaret helped her, and bent her head down to kiss the child's knee.  "Is that better?"  She asked her daughter.

            "Yes," Emily said with a small smile.

            Margaret smiled at her.  Then she noticed that Mildred was sitting on the Colonel's bed and the two of them were watching her with her daughter.  "Emily, I want you to meet Colonel Potter.  Can you say Colonel Potter?"  That was the first time that Emily noticed there was a strange man in the room.  She quickly turned shy and shook her head no.  

            "Hi there little lady," the Colonel said.  "you sure do look like your mother."

            Margaret looked at her shy daughter, "Can you say, 'Colonel'?"

            Emily looked at her mother and quietly said, "Ernal."

            "Very good," Margaret praised.  "Can you say 'hi' to the Colonel?"

            Emily looked at the man and leaned closer to her mother.  "Hi," she waved shyly.  

            "Hi," he said again.  "Your mother's been telling me all about you.  She wasn't lying when she said that you were cute."  Emily didn't know what to do and put her head down on her mother's shoulder.  "You're not shy, are you?"

            Mildred looked at her husband.  "She's a little shy until she gets to know you.  Look at those eyes.  Aren't they the most beautiful blue eyes you've ever seen?"

            Sherman smiled.  His wife was a sucker for a cute baby.  "They are gorgeous.  You're going to have a hard time keeping the boys away from her," he told Margaret.  "She's a real looker."

            Margaret smiled and hugged her nervous daughter to her.  "I don't have to worry about that for a while.  I'm still working on weaning her from the bottle.  She has to have one at bedtime."  

            Margaret turned her head to the door when there was a knock at it.  She was close to the door and opened it.  "Excuse me," a nurse said.  "But she can't be in here any longer.  I'm sorry."

            "I'll be right out," Margaret told the nurse.

            "Okay," the woman smiled.

            Margaret turned and walked over to the Colonel, and gave him a kiss on the cheek.  "Get better.  I'll see you tomorrow."

            "Bye," he said.  

            "Say 'bye-bye' to the Colonel," Margaret told her daughter.

            "Bye-bye," the baby said with a shy smile.

            "Bye, darlin'," he smiled.  "I'll see you tomorrow," he said to Margaret as she approached the door.  Margaret gave him a smile before leaving the room.  The Colonel looked at his wife.  "If you knew that woman before today, you'd be amazed.  That kid she has has really done something for her."

            Mildred smiled at her husband.  "Children tend to do that for their mothers."  She could see the change in her husband already.  He was more upbeat, and happy.  She knew that he had a special relationship with all of the people he served with over the years.  Margaret was really the first woman that he took under his wing and looked after as though she were his daughter.  She knew that he missed her, and was more than a little saddened that they lost touch.

            "Are you going to stop by before you go home?"

            "Of course.  Are you sure you don't want me to spend the night again?"

            "Not tonight," he said.  "Get to know Margaret a little better and let her get comfortable with being in our house.  If I know her, she's not too comfortable yet."  Mildred shook her head in conformation.  "Maybe she'll be better tomorrow.  She won't be alone at our house, and you can spend the night here."

            Mildred gave him a kiss.  "That's right.  We have another guest coming tomorrow.  I'll see you in about two hours."

            "Okay," he said.

            She could see that although he was much happier than he had been, he was also very tired.  He was still sick, and would be weak for a long time.  Having a heart attack wasn't something that you bounce back quickly from.  It takes time and work.

            Mildred took Margaret and Emily out to dinner and introduced the two of them to the people that she knew.  Everyone was pleased to meet Margaret, which came as a surprise to her.  She didn't think that people would even know about her.  She started to realize just how much she meant to the Colonel.  She started to think that maybe he thought as much of her as she did of him.

            Margaret put Emily to bed at eight thirty, and visited a little more with Mrs. Potter.  She really liked this woman, and after only one day with her, she felt like she had known her for years.  There was something about the lady that made Margaret feel very comfortable.  It helped that her daughter liked the woman.

            It was after eleven when Margaret got to bed.  Like Mrs. Potter had promised, there was a crib in her room for her daughter.  She had to be very quiet so as not to wake the sleepy baby.  Emily could be a deep sleeper, but Margaret didn't want to take any chances.  She checked on the child, and then slipped into her own bed and drifted off to sleep.


	3. bye 3

            Later the next day, Margaret went back to see the Colonel.  Mrs. Potter offered to watch the child for the day.  She said that she would stay with Emily for the day if Margaret would stay with the Colonel.  He didn't like to be left alone, but wouldn't admit it.  Mildred was going to spend the night with him.  The nurses would bring in an extra bed for her so that she was comfortable.

            It was about eleven in the morning when there was a knock at the front door.  Mildred was expecting a guest, and hoped it was him.  She opened the door to see a tall man with dark hair at the door.  "You must be Hawkeye," she smiled.

            "The one and only," he said with a boyish smile.  "It's nice to finally meet you Mrs. Potter.  I can see why the Colonel missed you so much."

            "You're a flatterer," she smiled.  "Come on in," she invited.  "I'm so glad you could make it.  Sherman will be very happy.  He didn't know you were coming."

            "You're very good at keeping surprises from him, aren't you?"  He said as he walked in and shut the door behind him.  

            "It comes with years of marriage," she said.  

            There was a little girl in the living room that caught Hawkeye's attention.  She was standing by some toys looking at him shyly.  "Hi," he smiled.  He looked at Mrs. Potter.  "Is this one of your grandchildren?"

            She looked at Emily standing there looking scared and alone.  "No," she walked over and picked up the child.  "This is Margaret Houlihan's daughter, Emily."

            Hawkeye was stunned.  "Margaret's?  Is she here?"

            "She's at the hospital with Sherman.  She took the day shift, and I'm taking the night.  She doesn't know you're here either.  I heard that you two were good friends, and thought that it would be a nice surprise for her."

            "It's a surprise to me," he said looking at the little girl Mildred held.  He could believe that Margaret was there, but he found it hard to believe that she had a daughter.  But there was no mistaking that that little girl was hers.  She looked just like her.  "What did you say her name was?  Emily?"

            "Yes," she smiled.  "It's Emily.  Can you say hi to this man?"

            "Hi," she said.  

            "Hi Emily.  You look like your momma."  Emily played shy and laid her head down on Mildred's shoulder.  Hawkeye smiled at Mrs. Potter.  "God, she looks just like her mother, doesn't she?"

            "Yes," she agreed.  "Would you like something to eat?  I was just about to make some lunch for us."

            "Sure.  Do you mind if I put my suitcase away?"

            "Go right ahead," she said.  "It's upstairs, second door on the right.  The bathroom is right across the hall."

            "Thank you," he said making his way up the stairs.

            Hawkeye sat down and ate lunch with Mildred and they got to know each other a little.  It was very odd sitting there with a baby that he knew was Margaret's, but hadn't seen Margaret since they said goodbye in Korea.  It was strange to think that she was married and had a baby.  He hoped she was happy, because that's all he wanted for her.  It seemed to be something that was hard for her to find, but he knew that she could, and she would.  Apparently she had found it now.  He couldn't imagine Margaret not being an excellent mother.

            Hawkeye got Emily to open up to him by making her laugh.  Soon she was playing with him, and wanted to be with him.  It didn't take long for her to warm up to him.  He got her to take a nap, and then he and Mildred talked for two hours.  

            Soon after Emily woke up, she picked Hawkeye to be her new best friend.  He played with her and tickled her, and threw her up in the air.  He was rough and gentle at the same time.  She just fell completely in love with him.  

            She was getting a little antsy when it was approaching dinner time, so Hawkeye took her outside.  Margaret had told Mildred that Emily would get fussy when she was hungry, and that the best thing to do was keep her mind off of it.  Mildred passed the information onto Hawkeye, and he took care of Emily for her.  

            "See the horsies?"  He asked her as they approached the fence.  "Can you say 'hi' to them?"  Emily was in his big strong arms and smiled at him.  Then she looked at the horses and waved hello.  "What does the horsy say?"  Emily made the sound and looked at Hawkeye proudly.  "You're a smart baby.  I bet Mommy spends a lot of time with you."

            "Momma," Emily said sadly.  She missed her mother, and it got worse when she was hungry.

            "She'll be here soon," he said.  "Look," he pointed.  "Look at the horsy run."  Emily watched the horses, and Hawkeye breathed a sigh of relief.  He narrowly escaped a crying fit from the seventeen month old.

            Hawkeye and Emily stayed out there for a while watching and talking to the horses.  Then they played with the dog for a while.  He wanted to give Mrs. Potter enough time to get dinner done, so that when he and Emily went back inside they could eat right away.

            Mildred was inside preparing dinner for herself and her guests.  After dinner she was going to go to the hospital to spend the night with her husband.  She figured that Margaret and Emily would be more comfortable today than they were yesterday.  From what she heard about Hawkeye, she didn't think that he would have any problem making himself comfortable.

            Mildred looked up when she heard the front door open.  It was Margaret.  "Hi honey.  Are you hungry?"

            Margaret smiled at the greeting.  "I'm starving.  The lunch at the hospital was disgusting."  Margaret said as she walked towards the kitchen where Mrs. Potter was.

            She smiled, "They certainly aren't known for their food.  How's Sherman doing?"

            "He's doing well.  We talked almost all day.  He didn't sleep as much as you said he has been.  He even looks better than he did yesterday."

            "I'm glad to hear that.  Did the doctors have any new news for us?"

            "Not really," she answered.  She looked around and didn't see her daughter anywhere.  Emily usually ran to meet her when she came back, even if she was only gone for an hour.  "Where's the baby?"

            Mildred looked up from the salad that she was tossing, "She's outside."

            "Outside?"  Margaret asked with confusion.  Emily was too little be outside alone, and she knew that Mrs. Potter wouldn't let that happen.  "Whose she outside with?"

            Mildred smiled, "Her new best friend."

            "What?"  

            "Go look," she said.  Margaret walked over to the back door.  Mildred watched out the kitchen window.


	4. bye 4

            Margaret opened the back door and looked around.  That's when she spotted the two of them.  Hawkeye was chasing Emily around, and she was laughing her little head off.  Margaret felt her breath get stuck in her throat.  She couldn't believe her eyes.  She swallowed hard when she realized that she stopped breathing.  "Oh my God," was all she could say.

            She walked off of the porch and got closer.  She couldn't believe her eyes.  Her heart was beating so hard and fast that she could hear it.  Her stomach felt like there were a thousand butterflies flying around it.  She couldn't take her eyes off of the scene in front of her.  Hawkeye had caught Emily and picked her up and tickled her, making her laugh more than before.

            That's when Hawkeye noticed Margaret standing in the yard.  He stopped what he was doing and stared at her.  She was so beautiful.  The sun was lighting her blonde hair, making it shine unbelievably.  She was wearing a light blue blouse that made the color in her eyes pop out, but she had the strangest look on her face.

            Emily looked at Hawkeye strangely when he stopped tickling her.  Then she looked at what caused him to stop.  "Momma!"  She squealed wiggling out of Hawkeye's arms.  Margaret smiled at her daughter and bent down to pick her up as she ran to her.  "Momma," she smiled again.

            "Hi baby," she said as she stood up with Emily in her arms.  "Did you have fun today?"  Emily shook her head yes.  "Good."  Margaret gave her a kiss, and then put her down.  She stood up and looked at Hawkeye.  He was smiling at her, and walking closer.

            "Hi gorgeous," he grinned.  "How have you been?"  He gave her a hug before she could say anything.  His arms felt so good around her.

            She pulled back, "Good.  How about you?"

            "Pretty good," he smiled.  "I missed you though."  She smiled at him, and shook her head slightly.  "I met your little girl."

            "I see that."  She looked to see where Emily was.  She was petting the Golden Retriever that was laying down in the shade.  "What are you doing here?"

            "Same thing as you.  I came to see the Colonel."

            It dawned on her that she was in Missouri.  She had forgotten where she was when she saw him.  "Of course," she smiled.  "He didn't mention that you were coming."

            "Oh, he doesn't know.  Mrs. Potter said that she wanted to surprise him.  I'm going to go see him tomorrow."  He looked at her and noticed that she was acting a little strange.  It was probably because of the last time that they were together.  That wasn't like her though.  "So, what have you been up to?"

            "Um, life," she didn't know what else to say.  

            "Anything special?"  He smiled.  "How about getting married and having a baby.  The last time I saw you, your plans were to stay in the army."

            "I'm not married," she told him.  When she said that she knew she shouldn't have.  It was just automatic now.  

            "I'm sorry it didn't work out with her father."  He truly was.  He wanted her to be happy.

            "I was never married to her father.  I'm raising her on my own."

            "Oh, well you're doing a great job.  She's a wonderful kid," he looked at Emily and she was lying next to the dog with her chubby arm around him.  "She's the prettiest thing that I've ever seen."  He felt bad that she was a single mother, but a little happy seeing that he might have a chance with her.

            Margaret smiled at him.  The mother in her couldn't help but smile when someone complimented her daughter.  "I think so too.  She's the best thing that ever happened to me," she said.  He smiled at her seeing the love written all over her face.  "What have you been up to?"

            "Nothing much," he smiled.  "I live in Boston now."

            "Really?"  That was interesting to her.  She thought that he would have stayed in Maine to be with his father.  "Why don't you live in Maine anymore?"

            "After my father died, I didn't want to stay there.  I needed to move on, and I just couldn't do that in our house."

            Margaret felt horrible for him.  "I'm sorry to hear that.  What happened?"

            He loved how she was always so concerned.  "Cancer."

            "I'm really sorry Hawkeye.  I know it's hard."

            "Yeah it is," he agreed.  It was actually harder than he ever though it would be.  "He passed away about six months after the war ended.  He never told me, but he knew he had cancer the whole time I was in Korea.  I think he just waited for me to get home."  Hawkeye looked away to the little girl that captured his heart.  She was running towards him with a smile.  

            Margaret watched as her daughter ran to Hawkeye.  Emily was usually a very shy child, but she took to Hawkeye very quickly and seemed to love him.   Hawkeye picked up the child, and she tried to tickle his neck.  Margaret smiled as he pretended to laugh, and then tickled Emily's chubby little neck causing a hearty laugh to come out of her.  

            Emily looked at her mother, "Eye," she pointed to Hawkeye.

            She smiled.  "Yes, I know.  Hawkeye.  Do you like him?"  The little girl shook her head yes.  

            Emily held her hands out to Margaret, and Margaret took her.  "Oood Momma."

            "We'll get you some food," she said.  "Mrs. Potter is cooking it right now."  Margaret looked to Hawkeye.  "Shall we go in and see if it's done?"

            "Let's go," he smiled at the pair.  Watching Margaret with her daughter was remarkable.  When she looked at Emily, there were no walls around her heart.  She was all love.

            Margaret and Hawkeye walked into the kitchen and saw that Mrs. Potter was getting the food on the table.  They knew that she must have been watching the two of them through the window, but they also knew that they didn't give her much of a show.  Margaret put Emily in a highchair, and then they all sat down for a wonderful dinner.

            "So," Hawkeye said to Margaret as he took a bite of food.  "Where are you living now?"

            "We live in Texas."

            Hawkeye looked at her strangely.  He didn't know why either.  "Does your father live there?"  That was the only thing that he could think of as a reason for her to pick a place to live.

            "No," she answered.  "My mother lives there."

            "Oh.  Where's your father these days?  Is he still a civilian military advisor?"

            She looked at him sadly.  "No, he passed away right after the war ended.  He never even knew about Emily."

            "I'm sorry," he said to her sincerely.  He knew how much she loved her father.  He also knew that pain of loosing a parent.  He actually knew the pain of loosing both parents now.  "I didn't know.  I guess we have something in common."

            She gave him a sad smile as she took a bite of peas.  "More than you know," she mumbled under her breath.

            "I hope you two won't mind cleaning up," Mildred said.  She had heard Margaret's comment, and wanted to change the subject.  "I want to get over to the hospital as soon as possible."

            Margaret had completely forgotten that she was leaving.  That meant that it was just going to be her, Hawkeye, and the baby all night.  She could feel the tension start to build already.  It was just too strange to be there with him.

            "We got it covered," Hawkeye said to her with his trademark smile.  "Go whenever you're ready."

            "Yes," Margaret chimed in.  "We'll take care of it.  It's the least I could do.  You took such good care of Emily for me."

            "You took care of Sherman for me," she smiled.  "It was a nice trade for the day.  It's tough being cooped up in that hospital.  He can be a little ornery when he's sick."  Hawkeye and Margaret smiled in agreement.  The Colonel was always a little edgy when he didn't feel well.


	5. bye 5

            They all finished the dinner, and the then Mildred left to go to the hospital for the night.  She gave Hawkeye and Margaret strict instructions to make themselves comfortable, and to help themselves to anything that they wanted.  Hawkeye and Margaret cleaned up the kitchen while Emily finished her dinner.  

            "What kind of surgery are you doing in Boston?"  Margaret asked as he cleared the table.

            "A little of everything.  How about you?  What are you doing now?"

            "I'm a surgical nurse," she answered.  "It's the best hours, and I need that with Emily.  The weekdays can be a little hectic, but I have the weekends off.  So for two days it's just Emily and I," she smiled.  "We spend the time together."

            Hawkeye smiled at her.  She had opened up since she had Emily.  She always held back the love she had for other people, but with Emily it was different.  Her feelings were an open book with her daughter, and Hawkeye loved to see that.  He was actually very happy to see that.

            "So how long are you going to be here?"  He asked as he started to put some food back into the refrigerator.

            "I'm not sure," she said bringing over some dirty plates from the table.  "How about you?"

            "Same.  I had some vacation time coming up, so if I have I'll use that.  I was very surprised to hear that you were here.  I was even more surprised to discover that the kid with Mrs. Potter was yours."

            "I guess it would come as a shock to you," she smiled.  "I'm used to it now.  She's my world."

            "I can see that," he said with a delighted smile.  "When was she born?"

            "April 5th," she answered.  "She's not quiet a year and half."  Margaret was standing next to her daughter washing her face.  Emily was fighting her like every self respecting baby would.  "I'm almost done," she told her.

            "No," Emily fought.  "No, no," she shook her head.

            "All done," Margaret said.  She let the child out of the highchair, and Emily ran to the back door.  "Where are you going?"  Margaret asked playfully.

            "Oggie," she said.  "Out."

            "No, you can't go out."  Margaret informed her.  She picked up her daughter and brought her away from the door.  

            "Oggie," Emily told her.    
  


            "I'll let the doggie in the house," Margaret said.  She walked back to the door and opened it.  She placed Emily down, and she followed the dog into the living room.  When Margaret turned around, she saw Hawkeye smiling at her.  "What?"

            "Nothing," he answered.  He and Margaret finished cleaning up the kitchen and talked.  They talked about what they were doing with their lives.  Hawkeye was interested in her, and she was interested in him.

            After they were done, Margaret took Emily upstairs to give her a bath.  She had gotten pretty dirty playing outside with Hawkeye.  Emily liked to splash around in the tub after Margaret was done washing her.  Margaret loved to watch her, and talk to her.

            "Eye?"  Emily asked.

            "He's downstairs," she said.  "What do you like so much about him?"  Emily didn't understand and just gave her mother a cute smile and then went back to splashing in the water.  Margaret watched her daughter play for a while before she made her get out.

            Hawkeye was downstairs sitting with the dog thinking about the two blondes upstairs.  Margaret had meant so much to him, and she still did.  He loved her, but he didn't know how to tell her.  He had lived two years without seeing her, and they were two of the longest years in his life.  He finally decided that he had nothing to lose by telling the way he felt.

            He smiled at her as he watched her walk down the stairs.  She had Emily on her hip, and they both had smiles on their beautiful faces.  Emily was in a pair of pink pajamas, and he little blonde ringlets were wet.  There was something about that child that he really adored.

            Emily wiggled out of her mother's arms when they reached the bottom of the stairs.  She ran over to Hawkeye and the dog.  He picked her up and put her on his lap.  "Hi munchkin.  You're all clean."  She smiled at him, and leaned against him lovingly.

            Margaret sat down in a chair that was across from them.  "Why does she like you so much?"  She asked with a teasing tone.

            "Margaret, you know how I am.  I'm irresistible to women.  What can I say?  She has great taste in men."  Margaret rolled her eyes at him, and he laughed.  Then he looked at her seriously.  "I've been down here thinking.  Can I tell you something?"

            Margaret was pretty sure that she knew what this was about.  He must have figured it out, but that was fine with her.  She was going to tell him tonight anyway.  "Just a second.  Emily, go show the doggie your toys."  Emily climbed off of Hawkeye's lap, and the dog followed her over to the other side of the room where her toys were.  "Go ahead," she said to Hawkeye.


	6. bye 6

            Hawkeye looked her square in the eyes.  "Margaret, you mean the world to me, and have for years now.  These last two years without you have been hell."  He saw the change in her face.  It had been a little scared, but now it was terrified.  "I wanted life to be what it was like that last night we spent in Korea.  We were together, and in each other's arms.  Safe from the rest of the world.  What I'm trying to say is that I love you.  We've wasted so much time.  If you feel the same way, and I think you do, would you be my wife?"

            Margaret's eyes almost popped out of her head.  That was not what she was expecting to hear.  "Oh my God," she breathed.

            Hawkeye reached for her hand and pulled her to sit next to him on the couch.  "Margaret, I love you with all of my heart and soul."

            "Wait," she said before he continued.  She needed a moment to digest this without him speaking.  She glanced over at her baby, and then back to Hawkeye.  "This is because of her, isn't it?"

            Hawkeye turned confused.  Why would she say that?  He looked over at Emily, and then back to Margaret.  "No.  What are you talking about?"  She didn't know what to say.  "Margaret," he pressed.  "What the hell are you talking about?  Why would wanting to marry you have anything to do with Emily?"

            Margaret looked over at Emily again.  She was jabbering away to the dog in broken English and baby gibberish.  Then she looked back to Hawkeye searching his eyes.  He knew something was going on now, and she had to say something.  "I thought that you, a, um, would, a…"  She didn't know what else to say.

            "Spit it out," he demanded with fear and worry.

            "Hawkeye, she's yours."

            He looked over at Emily and stared at her.  Then he looked back to Margaret.  She must have been playing some kind of cruel joke on him to get back at him for all the times he played stupid jokes on her.  "What?"

            Margaret could see that he was more than shocked.  He couldn't think clearly enough to put it all together.  "That last night we were in Korea, we made her.  I haven't been with another man since then, and I wasn't with one for at least three months before you and I spent the night together.  She's your daughter."  He looked at Margaret knowing that she was telling the truth.  "I thought that when I told you when she was born earlier, that you figured out that was nine months after we left Korea."

            "Oh my God, Margaret.  Why the hell didn't you tell me?"  He was now deeply hurt.

            "I'm sorry," she said.  She knew that he would be mad at her forever now.  "I knew the reason for your breakdown, and I thought that the news of a baby would be too much for you to handle.  I didn't want to do that to you."

            "Margaret, you should have told me."

            "I'm so sorry," she saw how hurt he was now.  "I didn't want you to feel like you were stuck.  I knew I could take care of a baby on my own, and I also knew that if you knew, you would want to marry me.  I didn't want to do that to you.  I wanted you to be happy."

            "I was miserable without you.  I've been in love with you for a long time."

            "Why didn't you tell me?"

            "I don't know.  I didn't want to push you away."  He looked back at Emily.  "I can't believe this.  She's my daughter?"

            "Yes, she is."

            "I have a little girl?"

            Margaret smiled.  His tone was changing to happiness instead of confusion and hurt.  "You have a little girl."  Margaret looked over at Emily.  "Come here, baby."  Emily got up and walked over to her mother.  Margaret pulled her onto her lap.  "Do you know who that is?"  She pointed to Hawkeye.

            "Eye," Emily stated.

            Margaret smiled.  "No, that's your daddy."  She pointed.

            Emily turned and looked at her mother.  "No daddy," she told her mother.  

            "Yes, you do have a daddy."  Margaret informed her.  "That's your daddy," she said.  It felt so good to say that to her daughter.  

            Emily looked at Hawkeye and then back to her mother.  "Daddy?"  She questioned.

            "Yes," Margaret answered.  "Can you give daddy a hug and a kiss?" 

            Hawkeye felt his heart soar when Margaret told the little girl that he was her daddy.  He looked at Emily, and she shook her head yes at her mother's request.  Hawkeye took her into his arms.  The baby gave him a slimy kiss on the cheek, and then they hugged. 

            Hawkeye held onto his daughter and felt his love radiate out of him for the first time in a long time.  Emily kept her head down on her father's shoulder, and wrapped her chubby arms around his neck.  She didn't fully understand the situation, but she knew that that man loved her.

            Margaret watched the pair as a tear ran down her cheek.  She had always felt guilty that Emily didn't have a father.  When she started to talk, she didn't have someone to call 'Dada'.  She didn't have a father to hold her in his big strong arms, or treat her like a little princess.  Now she did.

            "I love you Emily Houlihan," he told her.

            "No," Margaret said.  "It's Pierce.  Emily Ann Pierce."

            Hawkeye smiled brightly at his daughter's mother.  "Do you love me?"  Margaret smiled and shook her head yes.  "Will you marry me?"


	7. bye 7

            "Do you really want me after this?"

            "I want you more and more," he said honestly.  "I want you to go home with me.  I want to wake up with you next to me for the rest of my life.  I want to get to know my daughter, and maybe have some more babies with you."

            She smiled at him, and at Emily.  She was now looking at her parents, without a clue about what was going on.  She spotted the dog, and wiggled out of her father's arms.  He gave her a kiss, and let her go.  Margaret threw herself onto him, knocking him on his back, and kissed him.  "I'm sorry."

            "I know you did it to protect me," he said.  She was laying on top of him, and her hair had fallen across her face.  He moved it back with both of his hands.  "So, will you marry me?"

            "Yes," she smiled.  She kissed him passionately, and he wrapped his arms around her and held him to her.  She felt so safe at that moment.  It had been two longs years since someone held her like that.  

            They didn't part until they heard Emily yell, "Momma."

            Margaret lifted up her head in a panic, and got off of Hawkeye.  She saw Emily running towards her crying.  Margaret didn't know what happened, and picked up the child and held her on her lap.  

            "What happened?"  Hawkeye asked.

            "I don't know," Margaret said checking the little girl over.  She saw that the child's finger was a little red.  "Did you hurt your finger?"  Emily shook her head yes.  Margaret kissed it, and held her close.  "You're okay," she soothed.  

            Hawkeye smiled at the pair.  He couldn't believe that he had a daughter.  He was a little hurt that Margaret didn't think enough of him to tell him.  When he thought about the shape he was in back then, she may have been right.  He wasn't sure if he could have handled that news back then.

            "Did you pinch your finger?"  Margaret asked her daughter.  Emily shook her head yes and pointed to the toy on which she pinched her finger.  She knew that the child was more scared than she was hurt.  "Are you okay?"

            "No," Emily pouted.

            Hawkeye smiled at her.  "Do you want me to fix it?"

            Margaret smiled and looked at Emily.  "Your daddy is a doctor.  He can make you all better."

            Emily looked at her father and held her hands out to him.  "Come here my little munchkin," he smiled taking her into his arms.  He sat her down on his lap, "Watch this."  He took her chubby little hand in his own, and made some hand motions, then kissed it, and then tickled her neck.  She laughed and cuddled closer to him.

            "Did Daddy make it all better?"  Margaret asked.  Emily smiled and shook her head.  Margaret smiled at Hawkeye.  "How do you like being a daddy so far?"

            "Love it," he smiled.  "I just wish I would have known sooner."

            "I'm really sorry," she said sincerely.  She knew that he was very hurt, and couldn't begin to apologize enough to him.  "It was such a shock when I found out, and I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't.  I didn't want to make things worse for you, and I was sure that the news of a baby would do just that.  I should have given you more credit that that."

            He smiled at her, "You knew me pretty well.  To be honest, I couldn't have handled it.  You did the right thing.  It makes me sound like a horrible person, though."

            Margaret moved closer to him, and gave him a kiss on the cheek.  "You are not a horrible person.  Things just didn't happen the way we would have liked them to.  I know if you didn't have that breakdown, then you would have handled the news of becoming a father very well.

            "When Emily was born, I wanted to call you and tell you.  I just couldn't do it over the phone.  There were so many times that I wanted to tell you.  When she started to talk, she didn't have anyone to call 'Dada'.  I wanted to cry, I felt so bad for her."

            Hawkeye put his arm around Margaret, "She does now, and you know what the best thing about all this is?"

            "No, what?"

            "She's too little to remember.  She will never remember a time that I wasn't there for her."

            "No, but we will.  And we'll have to tell her one day."

            "One day is still years away.  We just have to figure out what we're going to do now."  Margaret lifted her head off of his shoulder and looked at him with confusion.  "You two live in Texas, I live in Boston, and we both work."

            "That's not a problem," she smiled.  "We'll go to Boston."

            "Are you sure?"  He asked.  Emily was still sitting on his lap leaning against him feeling as safe as she did when she was in her mother's arms.  "I have a good track record and can get a job anywhere."

            "I'm sure," she smiled.  She moved away from him so she could look at him while they talked.  "Can we get married soon?  I don't want to just move in together."

            "I hope you don't want to wait too long to get married.  I don't want to be apart from you.  Now that I know I have a daughter, I don't want to be apart from her at all."

            Margaret heard the panic in his voice, and could see it on his face.  "I'm sure we could find someone to marry us tonight."

            He smiled, "What about Emily?"

            "She'll come with us," she answered.  She thought that was a strange question.  She was used to bringing her daughter with her everywhere she went.  "We'll have to leave soon though.  She gets very fussy if she doesn't get her bottle by eight thirty."

            "Well what time is it now?"

            She looked at her watch, "Seven.  I'll call around and see what I can find."  She stood up and walked to the kitchen.

            Hawkeye looked at his daughter.  "Mommy has been waiting for this, hasn't she?  I should have went and found her like I wanted to two years ago.  Maybe we could have made it work, and you would have had a daddy.  Then Mommy wouldn't of had to do it all on her own.  I bet its hard taking care of you all alone."

            Emily looked at him, "side?"

            "What?"

            "Side," she said.

            Hawkeye had no idea what she was talking about.  He stood up and went to the kitchen where Margaret was.  She was sitting at the kitchen table flipping through the phone book.  She looked up at him, and saw Emily in his arms, and couldn't help but smile.  "What the hell does 'side' mean?"

            "Pierce," Margaret scolded.  "Don't say that."

            "Say what?"

            She spelled it out for him, "H-E-L-L.  She's starting to mimic what she hears."

            "Sorry," he said with a smile.  He was definitely going to have to work on that.  "What does 'side' mean?"

            Margaret looked at him like he was crazy.  Emily looked at her mother and said, "Side."

            "Oh," Margaret said.  She looked at Hawkeye, "It means she wants to go outside.  Baby language is something you have to get used to.  If you want to take her out, you can.  Just don't put her down.  She just had a bath, and doesn't need to get dirty."

            "Okay," he said.  "Holler when you find a place," he bent down and placed a kiss on her soft lips.  "I love you."

            She smiled, and kissed him once more before he stood up.  "I love you too."  It felt so good to say that.  She had longed to tell him that for so many years, and now she could say that to him everyday and not worry about him not saying it back to her.  She smiled as she watched Hawkeye walk off with Emily in his arms.  She was so happy that her baby girl now knew her father.

            Hawkeye and Emily stood outside in the warm night air and looked at the beautiful horses.  Emily loved animals.  Margaret called around and when she found someone that would marry them, she yelled to Hawkeye to come inside.  

            "I found someone," she said excitedly when he entered the back door.  "Are you ready to go?"

            "Should we change?"  He asked.  He was in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.  Margaret was wearing a pair of black pants and a short sleeve blue blouse, and Emily was in her pink pajamas.

            Margaret smiled at him.  "I didn't think I was going to get married, so I didn't bring anything for an occasion like this.  Did you?"

            "No," he smiled.  "What about her?"  He said of the baby in his arms.  "Should you change her?"

            Margaret thought that he meant the diaper, "Does she need to be changed?"  At Hawkeye's look she knew that he meant her clothes.  "She's fine.  We have to hurry though."

            "Okay.  Do you know where we're going?  I have no idea where anything is around here."

            Margaret took their daughter from him.  "I have directions.  You drive, and I'll tell you where to go."

            "I think you've done that before," he grinned.

            Margaret rolled her eyes at him, "Pierce."  She scolded.  

            He laughed and gave her a kiss.  "I missed that."

            Margaret gave Hawkeye the keys to the car that she rented, and then grabbed her purse and Emily's diaper bag.  "We don't have any rings," she realized as they walked out the door and to the car.

            "That's okay.  We'll get some tomorrow."  He told her.  He opened the car door for her, which surprised her very much.  She wasn't exactly sure why though.  He was always very polite when it came to things like that.  Margaret settled Emily on her lap, and the three of them went off in search of the judge that agreed to marry the two of them.

            They found the place in fifteen minutes, and the judge was waiting there for them.  He often saw young people in a rush to get married because the woman was pregnant, but this was new to him.  He had never seen two people in their thirties, with a baby, in a rush to get married.  He didn't ask any questions, he just did his job.

            Margaret and Hawkeye were so happy to be married.  Hawkeye was still in shock over the fact that he had a seventeen month old daughter, but was happy about it.  He knew that there was something special about Emily the first minute he laid eyes on her.  He looked over at Margaret and Emily, and couldn't believe that they were his wife and daughter.  There were no words to describe how he felt.

            Margaret finally felt whole again.  She wasn't only married to the man she loved, but her daughter now had her father.  Margaret would have never married Hawkeye if it was just because of the baby.  She knew that he loved her.  As happy as she was to be married to the love of her life, she was happier for her little girl.  Emily finally had a daddy to treat her like a princess.


	8. bye 8

            Hawkeye and Margaret got back to the Potters' house just before nine.  Margaret had been keeping Emily's mind off of the fact that she wanted a bottle.  When they got into the house, her efforts failed.  Emily started crying that she wanted her bottle.  Margaret handed her to Hawkeye and she started preparing the bottle.

            "Margaret," Hawkeye said a little overwhelmed by the crying and screaming.  "Something is wrong with her."

            "No, she just wants her bottle."

            "Are you sure?  I've been around her all day, and she hasn't even cried.  This doesn't seem normal."  He had to yell over Emily's crying.

            Margaret smiled at him.  "She's okay.  She's just overtired, and wants her bottle."  Margaret picked up the warm bottle and walked towards her daughter.  "Here it is," she said.  She tired to give the bottle to her, but Emily pushed it away.

            "Oh God," Hawkeye sighed.  "What's wrong?"

            Margaret chuckled.  He was new to this, and she found it amusing.  Emily held her hands out to her mother, "Momma."

            Margaret took her and cradled her, and then handed her the bottle.  "See," she said to Hawkeye.  "That's all she wanted.  She's a good baby, but when she's tired you'd better be ready for a fit.  That's why I always try to get her to bed by eight thirty."

            "I can see why," he said as he followed her into the living room.  Margaret sat down in a chair with the baby, and held her.  He sat down on the couch and looked at the two of them.  He had been missing so much, but now he felt complete.  

            "You'll get used to it," she smiled.  "It just takes a little time."

            He watched them silently for a minute.  Emily looked so much like her mother.  He watched as Emily's blue eyes lost the battle they had been fighting to stay awake.  "I can get you into the hospital if you want," he told his wife.

            "What?"  She was puzzled.  

            "When you two get settled in Boston, I can get you into the same hospital that I work at."  He saw Margaret's face change, and wasn't sure what it meant.  "You do want to go to Boston, don't you?"

            "Of course," she answered immediately.  "Do you want me to work?"

            "If you want to.  I would never stop you, you know that.  I'm not that kind of man."

            She smiled, "I know you're not."  She looked at him wondering what he wanted her to do.  "What if I didn't want to work?"

            A huge smile spread across his face.  He never thought that Margaret Houlihan would want to stop working.  She was after all, a workaholic.  "Then you don't have to work.  You can do whatever you want to do."

            "I had to go back to work when Emily was six weeks old.  It was the hardest thing I ever did.  I still feel guilty when I drop her off at the sitters.  She cries most of the time, and when she does that, I cry too."

            Hawkeye could see how much that bothered her.  She looked like she was about to cry just talking about it.  He guessed that it was hard for a mother to leave her child, especially her baby.  That baby grew inside her, and when it came out, it still depended on her for everything.  He knew that the bond between a mother and her child was like nothing else.  "If you want to stay home, then stay home."

            She smiled brightly, "Really?"  He shook his head yes.  "Thank you.  I want to stay home with her more than anything in the world.  I miss her when I'm at work."

            "Lucky for us I'm a surgeon.  My income is more than sufficient.  We do have another problem though."

            "What?"

            "I have a little one bedroom apartment in the city.  I don't have anything against it, but I don't want my child growing up in the city.  I grew up in the country, and had a great childhood.  I want the same for Emily."

            "Well, what do you want to do?"  She looked down at the sleeping baby in her arms, and saw that there was some milk left in the bottle that Emily was still working on finishing.

            "How would you like to get a house somewhere outside of the city?  I can commute to work.  Do you want to do that?"

            She smiled at him, "I'd love to.  We can put up with your small apartment for a little while.  I'll figure out what we need to do when we get there."

            "I've been thinking about buying a house for a while now.  I figured that if I got married, my wife would want a house."

            "You were thinking about getting married?  Since when did you think about things like that?"

            He smiled, "Since you put the idea in my head."

            "When was that?"  

            "About a year after BJ came to Korea.  I knew I was in love you, and if there was anyone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, it was you."  Margaret smiled brightly.  "She's done," he said referring to the baby.

            Margaret pulled the bottle away from her daughter, and sat it down beside her in the chair.  "I'll be right back.  I'm going to go lay her down in the crib."  She stood up and walked upstairs.

            Hawkeye watched her walk up the stairs, and smiled the whole time.  He loved seeing Margaret as a mother, and she was very good at it.  He didn't know how long she would be gone, so he lay down and stretched out on the couch.

            Margaret came down the stairs five minutes later, and saw Hawkeye laying there with a big smile spread across his face.  "What are you smiling at?"

            "Come here and let me hold you in my arms."

            Margaret smiled brightly.  She hadn't heard something that made her feel that good in a long time.  "I don't think there's enough room for the two of us."

            "Come on," he encouraged.  "If the two of us could spend the night on your cot, than we can fit on this."  He moved toward the edge of the couch to make room for her.  Margaret climbed in the space that he made between him and the back of the couch.  She laid her head on his chest, and wrapped her arm around him.  "See," he said with a smile.  "We can fit."

            She smiled up at him and melted into him more when he wrapped his arms around her.  "Can we stay like this forever?"

            "I wish we could," he said softly.  He held her there and took in the feeling.  He had longed to feel her back in his arms for two long years.  "You smell good."

            That made her smile.  "You feel good.  I'm really sorry that I didn't tell you about the baby.  I'll understand if you never forgive me for that."

            "I'm the one who should be asking you to forgive me.  I wasn't strong enough to handle the news, and you had to go through the pregnancy alone, and raise her alone.  There were so many times that I wanted to go find you and tell you that I wanted to marry you.  If I would have done that, then Emily wouldn't have gone her first year and a half without a father."

            Margaret sighed against his chest.  "I guess our daughter has a pair of fools for parents."

            Hawkeye smiled at her and lifted her chin up so he could kiss her.  "I love you Margaret Pierce."

            She smiled, "I love you."  She gave him a kiss and felt his hands start to roam over her body.  It felt so good to be caressed like that again.  She couldn't get enough of him and maneuvered her body so that it rested more on him than the couch.  Soon she felt his hands make their way up her shirt.  It wasn't until her blouse was completely unbuttoned that she realized where they were.  She pulled her lips away from his, "Stop."  She said breathlessly.

            He kept on kissing her.  "I… can't… stop.  It…feels…so…good."

            Margaret pulled further away, "You have to."  He put his hand behind her head and pulled her closer to him, kissing her.  "No," she pulled away again.  "We're on the couch."

            "So," he said trying to get her shirt off of her shoulders.

            Margaret pulled her shirt closed.  "We're in Colonel Potter's house.  The least we could do is take this upstairs."

            Hawkeye smiled at his wife.  She was right.  "What are you waiting for?"  Hawkeye stood up and offered his hand to pull her up.  Then they walked upstairs.

            Hawkeye headed towards her room.  "What are you doing?"

            He stopped to look at her, "Going to your room.  I only have a twin bed in mine."

            "The baby's in there," she whispered.  She walked to the opened door and pointed to show him the crib in there.

            "Can you move her to the bed in the other room?"  He whispered.

            "No, she'll fall off."  Margaret saw the look of great disappointment on his face and couldn't help but smile.  He gave him soft kiss on the lips.  "That crib has wheels on it, and she's a deep sleeper.  We should be able to move it with her in it."

            He smiled at her.  She wanted it just as much as he did.  "Okay, let's do it."

            They walked over to the crib and the each took a side, and moved it to the other room.  Emily didn't even stir.  Margaret fixed the blanket that was on her daughter, and looked up at Hawkeye.  He was standing on the other side of the crib staring at the little girl.  Margaret walked over to him and wrapped her arm around his waist.

            Hawkeye glanced at her and smiled, and then went back to looking at their daughter.  "She's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.  How do you think she's going to handle me being around all the time?"

            Margaret smiled at him.  He was worried that Emily wouldn't want him there.  Margaret would have thought the same thing, but she saw how Emily reacted to him.  "You don't have anything to worry about.  She's never taken to anyone like she has to you.  It makes me wonder if she knew who you were all along."

            He smiled at her.  "Do you want anymore?"  He was hoping that she would say yes.  He had only spent one day with their daughter, but he loved it.  He always wanted to have children, and hoped that Margaret felt the same way.

            "Yeah," she said staring at her daughter.  "I'd like her to have someone to grow up with besides her father," she teased.  "I don't think he'll ever grow up."

            He looked at her, "Do you know your shirt is still open?"  Margaret looked down and closed it.  He chuckled.  "You don't have to do that on my account.  I'm the one that wants it off."

            Margaret shook her head, but had a small smile on her face.  "Our daughter's in here.  You're going to have to start watching what you say around her."

            "She's sleeping."

            "It doesn't matter," she said in a motherly tone.  "She's an innocent little girl, and I'd like to keep her that way for as long as possible."

            "Sorry Mommy," he teased.  Margaret rolled her eyes at him.  "Now, let's go _our room."  Hawkeye and Margaret went to their bedroom, and spent their first night together without much sleep.  They didn't get to sleep until after three AM.  _


	9. bye 9

            Emily was up at seven, and Margaret got up with her and made her breakfast.  She thought that Emily would have at least slept until nine because she went to bed a little late.  But being in a strange place caused her to wake up earlier than she normally would have.

            Margaret was too tired to be hungry, so she sat down at the table with a cup of coffee while Emily ate her breakfast.  "Is that good?"  Margaret asked her daughter.

            Emily was eating some toast.  "Yummy."

            Margaret smiled.  She loved her little girl more than anything in the world.  "I'm so happy you have your daddy now."

            "Daddy, go?"  She asked.  

            "He's sleeping.  Just like you should be."  Emily smiled at her mother.  "You're going to spend a few hours with Mrs. Potter today.  How does that sound?  Mommy and Daddy are going to go visit the Colonel."

            "Ernal?"

            "Yep," she smiled.  "I wish you could spend some time with him.  He'd love you.  We'll have to come visit him when he gets better."  

            Emily held out a piece of her toast to her mother, "Some?"

            "No thank you," Margaret smiled.  "I like my toast without all the baby slobber.  Can I tell you something?  It's just between me and you, okay?  Daddy is a little worried about how you're going to take to him.  I know you love him already.  You did even before you knew he was Daddy.  You're just going to have to show him, okay?  Let him hold you, and give him kisses and hugs like you give Mommy.  He'll spoil you rotten.  Not that you aren't already."

            Emily smiled at her mother.  "Out."

            "Are you all done?"

            "No," she shook her curly head.

            "Then you have to finish eating."

            "Pease."  Her mother had taught her manners, and Emily has already figured out that the more polite she was, the more she got what she wanted.

            "No," Margaret said.  "Eat your toast, and then you can get out.  Maybe we'll go wake Daddy up.  There's no reason he should have more sleep than me," she smiled evilly.

            When Emily was done with her toast, Margaret cleaned her off.  She brushed the crumbs off of her, and then started to wipe the child's face and hands.  She had gotten butter all over her.  She put up a fight just like she always did, and then Margaret picked her up out of the highchair.

            Emily wiggled out of her mother's arms, and headed for the stairs.  Margaret was right behind her as the baby started to climb the stairs.  When they got to the top, Emily wasn't sure which way to go.  She looked at her mother silently asking her which room.  Margaret showed her where, and then Emily ran in.  She saw Hawkeye in there, and smiled at her mother.

            "Daddy?"  She asked her mother.  She just wanted to make sure that he was 'Daddy' and not 'Eye.'

            "That's right," Margaret smiled.  She lifted Emily up on the bed, and then she lay back down next to her husband.  "Wake him up."  Emily smiled and started to play with her father's face.  At first he didn't wake up.  He didn't even budge.  "That must be where you get it from," Margaret said to her daughter.

            Emily tried to wake him up.  She started playing with his mouth and his nose as Margaret watched with amusement.  Then Emily found his eye lids and started pulling them up.  When he opened his eyes she gave him a huge smile.

            He focused in on her and Margaret and then smiled.  "Good morning," he said to his daughter.  Emily babbled out 'morning' as good as she could causing Hawkeye to smile again.  

            "Good Morning," Margaret smiled.  "How did you sleep?"

            "I haven't slept that good for years.  I could use a few more hours though.  What are you doing up so early?"  

            "My alarm clock doesn't have a snooze button," she smiled.  "When she wakes up, I have to wake up too."

            "I see," he said.  He looked at Emily who was staring at him.  "How are you doing this morning?"  She gave him a shy smile and crawled toward her mother.

            "Are you playing shy this morning?"  Margaret asked her.  Emily laid her head down on her mother's pillow, and cuddled close to her.  Margaret put her hand on the child's cheek.  "You don't have to be shy, baby."  Emily was lying on her back and her head was turned to look at her mother.  She knew Hawkeye; she just wasn't sure what he was doing so close to her mother.  She wanted to be the one that was closest to her mother, and wanted her father to know that.  Margaret pulled Emily closer to her, and gave her a kiss on her chubby cheek.

            Hawkeye was lying on his side looking at the two of them.  They looked so much alike.  It was very apparent how Margaret felt about her daughter, and the same went for how Emily felt about her mother.  "Are you going to see the Colonel with me today?"

            "Yes," she answered.  "I came here to see him, and make sure that he's okay.  Mrs. Potter offered to watch Emily for me during the day so I could visit him."

            "How long do you think it's going to take for her to get used to me being around?  I don't think she likes it."

            Margaret smiled at him.  "I don't think it'll take long for her to get used to you.  She's a little shy, but when she lets you in, she'll never let you go."

            He smiled at her, "She's a lot like her mommy, huh?"  Margaret smiled at him.  "Emily," Hawkeye said.  She turned and looked at him.  "Can I have hug?"  She looked back at her mother, and Margaret shook her head yes to encourage the child.  Emily sat up and gave her father a hug.  "I love you, my little girl."

            Emily smiled at him, and then lay down next to her mother.  Margaret smiled at her and hugged her to her.  "You're a good girl, honey.  I love you."

            "Uve, oo," Emily told her mother.  She looked at her father and smiled.  She thought that it was strange for him to be in her mother's bed.  She loved him; she just wanted him to know that she was number one to her mother.

            Hawkeye and Margaret laid there and talked for a few more minutes.  Then they noticed that their baby had fallen back to sleep.  They both took that opportunity to go back to sleep for as long as Emily would let them.

            About two hours later Emily opened her eyes.  She was lying in her mother's arms in a strange place.  Then she remembered where she was.  She sat up and tapped her mother's chest.  "Mommy, up."  Margaret opened her eyes and smiled at the child.  "Hi Mommy," Emily smiled.

            "Hi baby.  Thank you for going back to sleep."  Margaret sat up and looked at Hawkeye.  She looked at Emily, "Wake Daddy up again."

            Emily smiled at her mother and then crawled closer to her father.  She sat her cubby little behind down and went strait for his eyelids.  Hawkeye was woken right away and greeted with a triumphant smile from the little girl.  He looked over at his wife, "Is this how I'm going to be woken from now on?"

            She smiled at him, "Time to get up.  Why don't you go take a shower, and I'll make us some coffee and something to eat," she suggested as she got out of the bed.

            "How about you go do that, and I'll stay here and sleep some more."

            Margaret reached down and picked Emily up.  "You can't.  I have to meet Mrs. Potter for lunch at noon, and you're coming with me."

            He didn't mind that, in fact he was looking forward to that.  "Margaret, its only 10 AM.  That's not for another two hours."

            "Yes, but it takes a half an hour to get there.  You need a shower, I need a shower, and I need to get the baby ready.  I need you up and ready because you're going to have to keep an eye on the baby while I take a shower.  Trust me on this.  It takes time to get ready with a baby.  You never know what's going to happen."

            "Alright," he said pulling himself out of bed.

            Margaret took Emily down stairs while Hawkeye took his shower and got ready to go.  He had to trust Margaret that it took time to get ready with a baby because he didn't have any experience.  He took his time, and a half an hour later he went downstairs.  

            He walked into the kitchen and saw Emily sitting in the floor, still in her pajamas, playing with the dog.  He was surprised at how well the dog handled a baby, and he was also surprised at how gentle Emily was with him.  He smiled at her when she looked up at him.

            "Hi Daddy," she said cheerfully.

            He felt so good when she said that.  "Hi munchkin."  He bent down and picked her up.  "Where's Mommy?"

            "Potty."

            "Oh," he smiled.  He brought her with him to get a cup of coffee.  He looked around the counter.   "I thought Mommy was making breakfast."

            Margaret walked into the room in time to hear that.  "I changed my mind.  We're going to eat lunch in about hour.  If you're hungry grab something light."

            "I'll wait," he said walking over to her.  He bent down and placed a kiss on her lips as Emily looked on in confusion.

            Margaret smiled up at him when he released her lips.  "I'm going to jump in the shower.  Are you two going to be okay for a little while?"

            "Sure," he smiled looking at Emily.  "We'll be fine, won't we?"  She smiled at him and then at her mother.  

            "Okay," Margaret said.  "Keep him out of trouble," she said to her daughter.  Margaret turned and went upstairs.  Unless she took a shower at night, she couldn't take a long one.  Now that Hawkeye was there to watch the baby, she could enjoy a nice long hot shower in the morning.

            When Margaret got out of the shower, she saw that Emily and Hawkeye were sitting on the bed.  Hawkeye was playing peek-a-boo with her, and she was laughing up a storm.  Margaret smiled at the pair.  It was only yesterday that Margaret woke up as a single mother with a daughter who had no idea she even had a father.  Now here she was married to the love of her life, and the father of her daughter.

            After Margaret was got dressed and fixed her hair and makeup, she gave Hawkeye the job of preparing Emily's diaper bag.  She knew that he didn't have the first clue what to do, so she helped him while she got Emily dressed.  She was used to doing it all herself, and would have been better off, but she wanted Hawkeye to feel needed.

            When Margaret fixed Emily's hair, they were ready to go.  Neither she nor Hawkeye knew the area very good, but she did know it a little better than him, so she drove.  Emily sat comfortably on her father's lap for the drive.  She was glad that he was around.  She had a lot of fun with him.


	10. bye 10

            When they got to the restaurant Mrs. Potter was standing outside waiting for them.  She was happy to see that Hawkeye was with Margaret too.  "Hi," she said when they walked up to her.  

            Margaret smiled at her, "Hi.  I hope you haven't been waiting to long."

            "No," she smiled looking at Emily.  "How are you today?  You look so pretty in your dress."  She was wearing a white sundress with embroidered purple flowers on the skirt.  Emily smiled at the woman.  She had been spoiled by Mrs. Potter since the moment she met her.  Mildred held her hands out, and Emily went into them.  "You and I are going to have fun today."  The lady looked at Hawkeye and Margaret, "Are you two hungry?"

            "Starving," Hawkeye said.  "Let's get in there."  He held the door open for the ladies and let them lead the way to the table.  

            Mrs. Potter noticed the change in Margaret right away.  Last night before she went to the hospital, Margaret was very tense with Hawkeye around.  She couldn't figure out why, but she had a few ideas.  Today Margaret seemed at ease, and very happy.  She knew that something must have happened between the two of them, but she wasn't sure what that was.

            "How is the Colonel doing?"  Hawkeye asked.  

            Mildred was putting Emily in a highchair, and looked over at him.  "He's doing much better.  He knows Margaret is coming, but he still has no clue that you're here."  She sat down and smiled at him.  "I wish I could see his reaction."

            "Why wouldn't you?"  He asked.

            "I told Margaret that I would watch Emily for her.  After lunch we're going to go home and find something to do."

            Margaret was sitting there listening, and had to say something.  "You're the one that wanted to surprise him with Hawkeye.  You should be there.  Emily and I will play at the park for a while."  There was a park across the street from the hospital.

            "Thank you," the woman smiled.  "I really do want to see his reaction."

            Margaret smiled and looked at Hawkeye.  Then she looked at Mrs. Potter.  "I'll be there to see his reaction to some other news."

            She looked at Hawkeye and Margaret, and saw that there was something between the two of them.  "What are you two hiding?"

            "We're married," Margaret blurted out.  She couldn't wait to tell someone.

            "You're what?"  She asked.  She was stunned and lost.

            Hawkeye and Margaret could see that she was lost.  Hawkeye spoke first, as he was known for.  "I'll give you the short version.  Margaret and I fell in love years ago; we just never said anything to each other.  Margaret didn't tell me this until last night, but the night before we left Korea, we made little Emily here."  He smiled at his daughter.

            Margaret took it from there.  "There were unusual circumstances that stopped me from telling him about the baby.  I always felt guilty about it, but I decided to raise her on my own.  I never thought that I would see Hawkeye again.  I was more than a little scared to see him at your house last night, but we talked and I will always be grateful to you for making him come out here."

            Mildred was smiling.  She didn't know the full extent of their relationship, but she knew that they had one.  It was very apparent even last night.  "I just wanted to reunite two friends; I didn't think this would happen."

            Hawkeye was smiling ear to ear.  It felt good to tell other people that they were married, and that Emily was his little girl.  "Whatever your motives were, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts."

            "Well you're very welcome."

            Hawkeye and Margaret filled Mrs. Potter in on certain aspects of their relationship to give her more of an idea of why they got married.  Mildred was just happy to see that even if she didn't set out to be a matchmaker, it worked just the same.  She would have loved to see her husband's reaction to the news.  He had often told her that Hawkeye and Margaret belonged together.

            When they finished lunch, Hawkeye and Mildred walked across the street to the hospital.  Margaret and Emily went next door to the park.  It worked out best for Mrs. Potter too; Emily would run around and tire herself out.  That way when she took Emily back home with her, Emily would take a nice long nap.

            "His room is right around the corner," Mildred said as she and Hawkeye walked down the hall.  She stopped and knocked lightly on the door as she opened it.  He sat up when he heard it.  She smiled at him, "I brought a visitor."

            "Well, bring 'em in."

            Mrs. Potter walked into the room and held the door for Hawkeye.  He stepped in and smiled at the stunned look on the Colonel's face.  "What are you doing in here?  You should be out on a boat fishing."

            "I needed a break from that."  Hawkeye walked over and shook the man's hand.  "This is a surprise.  The Mrs. didn't tell me you were coming.  Have you seen Margaret?"

            He smiled, trying to keep from giving away any information.  Margaret wanted to be the one to tell the man.  "I've seen her.  How about that kid?  Did you get to see her?"  The Colonel shook his head.  "Isn't she beautiful."

            "Looks just like her mother.  I feel bad for her though.  Poor little thing doesn't have a father."

            "Knowing Margaret, I don't think she's short of suitors.  I'm sure Emily will get a father."

            "I don't know about that.  Margaret said that she hasn't seen anyone since she left Korea, and she's not interested in looking right now."

            "She's always taken care of herself, and I imagine she can take care her daughter too.  She's a strong woman.  We don't have to worry about her."  He pulled up a chair and sat down.  "Tell me how you got yourself in this mess."

            "Ah, you don't want to hear about that.  If I know my wife, she has told you everything.  Tell me what you've been up to the last two years."

            He smiled, "Nothing much.  I live in Boston now.  I took a position there after my father passed away."

            "I'm sorry to hear that, son.  I know how close you and your father were."

            He gave a sad smile.  "I miss him, but life has to go on.  He's finally with my mother again, and I know that neither one of them would want me to be unhappy.  All in all, my life is pretty good."  He didn't want to say much more, because he would have let the cat out of the bag.  "Tell me about you."

            They talked for a few more minutes.  Mildred finally stood up and told them that she was going to go home.  She would send Margaret up in a few minutes.  That opened the subject of Margaret back up, but Hawkeye kept avoiding it.  He succeeded until his wife walked into the room.

            "Major," the Colonel said with delight.  Having Margaret come back into his life lifted his spirits.  He loved her like she was his own daughter.

            "Sir," she smiled.  "How are you doing?"

            "Great," he said as she walked over to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.  "Did you see who's here?"

            She looked over at Hawkeye and smiled, and then back to the Colonel.  "Yes I know.  We rode in together, and had lunch together."

            He smiled at her.  "Right."

            Hawkeye stood up and stood next to Margaret.  He put his arm around her shoulders, and smiled at her.  The Colonel knew that something was going on.  The two of them didn't do those kinds of things; at least not around other people.  He knew they had feelings for each other.  "We have something to tell you."

            "Yes," Margaret smiled wrapping her arm around her husband's waist.  She couldn't hold back.  "We're married."

            "Jumpin' Johosaphat," he didn't expect to hear that.  The newlyweds watched him with amusement as he put things together.  "You two are a couple of liars."

            "What?"  They said in unison.

            "Pierce, you said you lived in Boston.  Margaret said she lived in Texas and was raising her daughter on her own."

            "That was all true," Margaret clarified.  "We only married last night."

            "Last night?  Couldn't you have waited until I got out of here so I could be there?"  He was happy, but a little hurt.

            "We waited too long as it was," Hawkeye answered.  "I've loved her for over three years now."

            "I knew it," he said as though he won a contest.  "Pierce, why didn't you tell me?"

            "I told you we didn't have to worry about her," Hawkeye smiled.  He took a seat in the chair next to the bedside.  Margaret sat on the arm of it, and leaned on him for support.  "Margaret wanted to wait and tell you.  You have no idea how much I wanted to blurt it out."

            "I'm happy for you two."  He looked at Margaret.  "Are you sure you want him to help you raise Emily.  You know how he is?"

            Margaret smiled, "He is her father."

            "Step-father, right?"

            "No," she smiled.

            Hawkeye looked at the Colonel.  He was a little shocked.  "You remember how Margaret and I said good-bye?"  The old man shook his head.  "Well we did a little more than kiss the night before."

            The Colonel held up his hand.  "That's enough."  Margaret was like a daughter to him, and the last thing he wanted to do was hear about her sex life.  "Nine months later, Emily was born, right?"

            "Right," Margaret said.  "Then a year and a half later, her father and I got married."

            "It's not your traditional way," Hawkeye said with a smile.  "But that's the best we can do."

            Margaret beamed, "My little girl has a daddy now."

            "So," Potter said looking at Hawkeye.  "That's where that child gets those eyes, huh?  I was wondering about that."

            "That's where," Margaret answered.  "Somehow she got all of her other looks from me."

            Hawkeye had thought that Emily was a beautiful child the moment he saw her standing shyly in the living room.  But when he found out that she was his, she became the most beautiful thing that he had ever laid eyes on.  "Simple genetics."

            "Maybe," the Colonel said.  "But I think someone up there might be teaching you a lesson."  Hawkeye gave him a confused look.  "I know you were always some kind of Romeo, but I also know that there are a lot of women out there that you haven't treated with the respect that they deserve.  You're bride included."

            "That was the old Hawkeye Pierce.  Margaret straitened me out years ago."  He tightened his grip on her lovingly.  

            Margaret looked down at her new husband.  "I don't know, Pierce.  I think he might be right.  Having a beautiful daughter means that she'll have boys chasing her, and they won't all treat her with the respect that she deserves."

            "They'll be sorry if they don't," he said seriously.  He couldn't imagine someone hurting his daughter.  His protective fatherly side seemed to jump out at the idea.

            Margaret smiled at him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.  "You're so cute."

            The Colonel smiled at the two of them together.  It seemed so natural for them to be like that.  He was very happy for them.  "I don't see a ring on her finger, Pierce.  What happened?"

            "We didn't have time to get one," he answered.  

            "You two should have went this morning."

            Margaret didn't want to tell him the real reason they didn't go.  She didn't want to say that they were too tired from making love all night.  "We had the baby with us, and it's not a good idea to take her into a jewelry store."

            "I can understand that.  Pierce, you need to take her out and get her one.  You better start treating her right, or I'll go after you."

            Hawkeye smiled at Margaret and then looked at the Colonel.  "We plan on going out and finding some soon."  It did bother him a little that he hadn't given her a ring.  He wanted to put a ring on her finger to claim her for all the world to see.

            "What are you two doing in here?  Get out there and spend some time together."

            "We came here to spend time with you, sir."  Margaret said.

            "I don't need a babysitter," said the ornery old man.  "Now I'm ordering the two of you to get out of here."

            Margaret smiled down at her husband.  "I know you were never one to follow orders, but I am.  So what do you say?  Let's get out of here so you can buy me a ring."

            "This is an order that I can follow," he smiled.  He gave her a kiss and then the two of them stood up.    
  


            Margaret gave the Colonel a kiss.  "We'll be back.  Get some rest."

            Hawkeye and Margaret left the hospital and walked around the town.  There were a bunch of little shops that they went into.  When they found a jewelry store, they went in and spent a while in there picking out rings.  They ended up buying two simple wedding bands.  Hawkeye promised that one day he would give her a diamond to show off to everyone.

            They went back to see the Colonel and spend an hour with him before they headed back to the house.  Mrs. Potter said that she was going to have dinner done at six, and to be there on time.  

            Emily was sitting in the living room playing with her doll when she saw the door open.  Mrs. Potter told her that Mommy was coming soon, so she knew that it had to Margaret.  The child stood up and ran to the door.

            "Hi," Margaret smiled.  She picked the child up.  "I missed you today.  Did you have a good time with Mrs. Potter?"  Margaret gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek.

            Emily looked at Hawkeye and pointed, "Daddy."

            "That's right," Margaret said happily.  "Go see Daddy," she passed Emily to her father.

            "Hi Munchkin," he said.  He loved the feel of holding her.

            "Hi," she smiled.  "Oood?"  She asked him.

            Hawkeye looked at Margaret for a translation.  She smiled at him.  "She wants to know if you're ready to eat."

            He looked at his daughter, "I'm ready to eat.  Are you hungry?"  She nodded her curly head.  "Let's go eat then."

            The three of them walked into the kitchen to see Mrs. Potter setting the table.  "Hi you two," she smiled.  "I hope you're hungry.  I made plenty to eat."

            "Starving," Hawkeye said as he brought Emily to her highchair. 

            Margaret jumped in and started helping set the table.  "How was she today?"  She asked about her daughter.  "I hope she wasn't too much trouble."

            "Not at all," Mildred smiled.  "She's a delight.  We had a lot of fun today."  She looked over at Emily who was sitting comfortable in her high chair.  "You rode the horsy today, didn't you?"

            Emily smiled at looked at her mother, "Horsy," she said proudly.

            "Wow," Margaret smiled.  "Did you like that?"  Emily shook her head yes.  "Do you like spending time with Mrs. Potter?"

            "Yes," she said clearly.  

            Margaret smiled and looked at Mrs. Potter.  "Is there anything that I can help you with?"

            "Everything is done," she said walking into the kitchen.  "If you want to get a plate fixed for Emily you can.  Hawkeye, would you mind helping me bring the food to the table?"

            "Gladly," he said following her orders.  He could just see the Colonel at home following her orders.  It was pretty amusing.

            Mildred noticed the ring on his finger, "When did you get this?"

            Margaret looked over at them.  "The Colonel kicked us out today and made us go get them."

            "I knew he would," Mildred smiled.  "As long as he's around, he'll make sure Hawkeye treats you right."

            "Why does everyone assume that I won't treat her right?"  

            Margaret smiled at him, "I know you will."  She brought the plate she had for Emily over to the table.  Everything was set, so they all sat down at the table.  "If you don't, you'll be in big trouble."

            "I know.  I'll have the entire US Army after me."  He sat down in a chair next to Margaret.  Margaret pulled Emily's highchair closer to her.  "This smells good," he changed the subject.

            "Yes it does," Margaret agreed.  She looked over at Emily who was waiting for her food.  "Are you hungry, baby girl?" 

            Emily reached for her plate, "Oood."  Margaret placed the plate on the highchair, and handed Emily a spoon.  She liked to use a spoon to be like the adults, although she usually gave up on it and used her hands.

            "Did the Colonel's doctor call you?"  Hawkeye asked Mildred as he placed food on his plate.

            "No," she said with worry.  "Is it bad news?"

            "Oh no," Margaret chimed in.  Hawkeye had talked to the doctor earlier, and the two of them got along very well.  "He said that the Colonel might be able to come home tomorrow afternoon.  Of course, he has a strict list of what he has to do."

            "He'll be following every rule.  I'll see to that," Mildred said.  "He's not leaving me for a long time.  We've been married for 40 years, and haven't seen each other for half that time.  I'm glad you're not in the army," Mildred said to Hawkeye.

            "I went kicking and screaming," he told her.  "Leaving Korea and the Army was one of the happiest days of my life.  Now that I know I have a family, there isn't anything that can take me away from them."

            Margaret smiled at Emily.  She was shoveling the food into her mouth and getting it everywhere.  "Is that good?"  Emily didn't answer and continued to eat.  

            Mildred smiled, "Sherman is going to love being able to see her again.  You'll still be here, right?"

            "Well his doctor said that he shouldn't have any added stress around."  Margaret answered.  "Emily may be a good baby, but she's still a baby.  We can't stay here when he comes home."

            Hawkeye saw the disappointment in Mildred's eyes.  He knew that the Colonel wouldn't be happy if they had to leave without spending some time with him at home and seeing Hawkeye and Margaret as parents.  "You know," he said.  "Maybe we could stay another day or two.  We'll just stay in a hotel."

            "I guess that would work," Margaret said.  "I have to get back to work in two days though."

            "But aren't you going with Hawkeye back to Boston?"  Mildred asked.  Hawkeye was interested in the answer to that question to.  Margaret had agreed to go back with him.

            "Yes, but I can't just fly from here.  I have a life in Texas, and will need to quit my job and say goodbye to people.  I can't just up and leave.  Emily needs a chance to say goodbye to the people that she loves too."

            It did make sense to them.  She was right about all of that.  Hawkeye was disappointed.  He assumed that they would fly back with them.  He remembered that he had vacation time owed to him.  He would talk it over with Margaret later, and they would make a plan.  If he knew her, she already had one.

            They sat there and talked while they ate dinner.  Mildred and Margaret cleaned up while Hawkeye took the baby outside with him, and played with her.  She wanted to stay in the house because she hadn't seen her mother all day, but when Hawkeye mentioned the animals she jumped at the chance to go see them.

            When everything was cleaned up, Mildred went back to the hospital.  Sherman loved having her there, and she loved spending time with him.  Margaret went out back and sat at the picnic table and watched Hawkeye and Emily.  They needed time to bond, and get to know each other without her being in the middle.

            Later that night, Emily let Hawkeye hold her as she fell asleep.  He had been around for two days now, and she felt safe with him.  Margaret tried to stay out of the way all night to let the two of them get to know one another.  She even had Hawkeye changing the baby's diaper and making the bottle.

            Hawkeye put the baby in her crib, and then went downstairs where Margaret was.  She was sitting on the couch looking at a magazine.  It was the first time that she wasn't the one to put Emily to bed.  He laid down on the couch and put his head in her lap.  She smiled and put the magazine to the side.  "Hi."

            "Hi, gorgeous."

            Margaret ran her fingers through his thick hair.  "How is that your hair seems less grey than the last time I saw you?"

            "Less stress," he answered.  "What are we going to do when we leave Missouri?"

            "I have to go back to Texas, and quit my job.  They've been very good to me.  They understood that it was just Emily and I, and that she was my first priority.  If Emily was sick, they didn't have a problem with me taking a day or two off.  I have to give them two weeks notice."

            "I understand," he said as she played with his soft hair.  "I can take some more time off.  Would it be okay if I went back with the two of you?"

            "Of course," she smiled.  "We're a family now.  You don't have to feel like an outsider."

            "I know, but when it comes to Emily, I sometimes do."

            "You don't have to," she assured him.  "You're her father, and she's your daughter.  It's just going to take time for the two of you to fall into those roles."  She bent down and planted a kiss on his lips.  "I want you to come with us, and meet my mother.  She knows about you.  I called her when you were in the shower this morning."

            Hawkeye had never heard much about Margaret's mother, so he didn't know what she would think.  "What did she have to say?"

            Margaret smiled down at him.  She could see that he was worried.  "She knew all along that you were Emily's father.  She knew I was still in love with you, and always encouraged me to tell you about the baby.  She's happy that we're together."

            "Did you tell her that you're moving and taking her granddaughter away?"

            "Yes," Margaret said sadly.  It was going to be hard to leave her mother.  She had been there for Margaret throughout her pregnancy, and for everything after the baby was born.  Emily absolutely adored her grandmother, and Margaret felt horrible already because she was going to take Emily away from her grandmother.  "She didn't say anything, but I know it hurts her."

            "Does your sister live there?"

            "No," Margaret answered.  "Lizzy lives in Connecticut.  Mom was going to move there until she found out I was pregnant.  I guess she can do that now."

            "You do know that Connecticut is right below Massachusetts, right?"

            "Yes," she rolled her eyes.  "I know that."

            "Well that means that your mother won't be that far away."

            "I guess you're right."  He lifted his hands to her face and pulled her down for another kiss.  "It's just that my mother is the only grandparent that Emily has."

            "I know she is.  I've never met your mother, but it sounds like family is important to her.  I'm sure she won't be far from her granddaughter."

            "I hope you're right," she looked down at him.  "Emily adores my mother."

            "Do you have room for me at your apartment?"

            She smiled at him.  "My bed has plenty of room.  You and the baby will be able to spend a lot of time together.  I'll have to work, so that means it'll just be the two of you."  She said with happiness.

            "I hope she likes to relax."

            "She loves it," she smiled.  "She'll love spending time with you.  You like to talk, and she likes to hear it."

            He smiled up at her, "I'm glad.  We might want to call a realtor in Mass.  That way we can get a jump start on looking for a house.  I have a really tiny place.  I don't know where we're going to put Emily.  I only have the one bedroom."

            "I thought about that too.  I think she's going to have to take the bedroom.  We can't put her in the living room because she goes to bed at eight thirty.  She needs a room with a door.  I hope you don't plan on entertaining because the living room is going to have to be our room until we find a house."

            "You're the boss," he said.  "But I'm telling you the place is small.  Don't expect too much because you'll be very disappointed."

            She smiled at him and gave him another kiss.  "As long as the three of us are together, then I'll be fine.  How long could it take to find a house anyway?"  

            "Hopefully not too long," he sat up next to her.  He grinned at her, "Wanna make out like a couple of teenagers?"  She smiled at him, and shook her head in amusement.  "What do you say?"  He smiled.

            "Ah, what the hell."


	11. bye 11

            The next afternoon, Hawkeye drove into the hospital to pick up the Colonel and talk to the doctor.  Mildred wanted him to talk to the doctor so he could translate the medical terminology.  He was more than happy to do it for her.  He brought the Colonel back with him, and Margaret and Mildred had the house set up for him.  He was supposed to relax as much as possible, so they had the living room and the bedroom set up as comfortably as possible.  

            Margaret wasn't there when Hawkeye and the Colonel arrived.  She and Emily drove into town to pick some things up.  Margaret wanted to give the Colonel time to settle in without a baby running around.  She also had some things she had to do.  She had to get a hotel room, and get settled in that.  They would be staying there for two nights, and she wanted everything in its place when they came back from the Colonel's later that night.

            Later that day, Margaret and Emily showed up for dinner.  Emily, as she always was, was ready to eat.  After the greetings, they all sat at the dining room table and enjoyed a nice meal together.  The Colonel was so glad to be out of bed and sitting at a real table.  Although his wife made him go sit in the living room in the most comfortable chair after dinner was done.

            The Pierces spent the night at the hotel, and the next day at the Potters.  They checked out of the hotel the next morning, and drove back to the Potters to say goodbye.  They had to drive to the airport, drop the rental car off, and catch their flight to Texas.

            "Emily, honey," Margaret called.  "Come and say goodbye.  She was running around the yard being chased by the lovable and gentle Golden Retriever.  Emily ran over to her mother, and jumped into her open arms.  "Are you ready to go?"

            "No," Emily said with a smile.  She loved spending time at the Potters.  She had come to love both of them, and especially their animals.  

            Mrs. Potter held her arms out to the baby, and Emily went into them.  Hawkeye walked up to the Colonel and shook his hand.  He would have hugged him, but he was afraid that the Colonel would have slugged him.  "You better take better care of yourself.  I don't want to have to come out here again for this reason.  The next time we come out here is not going to be to visit a sick friend."

            The Colonel shook his head.  "I know, I know.  You take care of that family you have there.  Don't let them slip away."

            Hawkeye smiled.  He and the Colonel had talked a lot in the past few days.  He shared with the Colonel his insecurities of not being wanted by his wife and child.  "I won't.  Take care of yourself."

            The Colonel shook his head in agreement that he would. Then he looked at Margaret who was anxiously waiting to hug him.  Hawkeye moved to the side, and Margaret hugged the old man, being sure to hold onto him for a moment.  She had already lost her father, and she couldn't stand the thought of losing the 'dear sweet man' that she had come to love so much.

            Margaret pulled back, leaving her hands on the Colonel's arms.  "You better take care of yourself.  That's an order."

            The Colonel smiled.  "I'm not going anywhere for a long time.  I can promise you that."

            "Good," she said finally releasing him.  She moved of to Mrs. Potter and Emily.  She gave the woman a hug and took her daughter into her own arms.  "Thank you for everything."

            "Thank you for coming," Mildred smiled.  She knew that Margaret would never know what she did for the Colonel by coming to see him. It meant the world to him.

            Margaret smiled, "Thank you for being so persistent and tracking me down."

            "No problem," the old lady smiled.  She looked at Hawkeye and gave him a big hug.  "I heard a lot about you, but I never believed half of it.  I guess I had to see you to believe you."

            He chuckled, "Well I am one of a kind."  He gave the lady a kiss on the cheek, "Thanks for giving me my life," he said referring to his new wife and daughter he never knew he had.

            "Anytime," she smiled.  "Take care of them, or I'll send Sherman after you."

            "You don't have to worry about a thing."

            The Colonel standing next to Margaret and Emily, and looked over at the blonde baby.  "Well little lady, I had a great time with you.  You sure know ho to brighten up a room."

            Emily smiled at him.  She loved his voice.  She looked at her mother and Margaret said, "Can you say 'bye-bye' to the Colonel and give him a hug?"

            Emily leaned in toward the Colonel and wrapped her chubby arms around his neck.  Margaret would let the Colonel pick the child up, because it would have been too strenuous on him.  He insisted otherwise, but she wouldn't give in.  "Bye-bye," Emily smiled leaning on her mother more.  

            "Bye, hon.  Take care of your parents, okay."

            Margaret smiled at him, and gave him a kiss on the cheek.  "Bye, sir."

            "Bye Margaret."

            Hawkeye was standing next to the car holding the door open for his wife, "Are you ready to go?  We need to get going if we're going to catch the plane."

            "Yeah, we're ready," Margaret said.  She turned and walked to the car.  She and Emily got in, and they waved to the Potters as Hawkeye backed out of the driveway.  It was hard to say goodbye, but Hawkeye and Margaret were both looking forward to starting their new life together.


	12. bye 12

            They entertained Emily for most of the plane ride.  She was wide awake the entire ride just as she had been when she and Margaret flew out to Missouri.  She was good and didn't fuss at all.  When they landed in Texas, they went out to lunch before going anywhere else.  They had been on the plane during lunch time, so they didn't get any lunch. 

            When they were through there, they took a cab back to Margaret's apartment.  She had a car, but she left it at home, and took a cab to the airport.  It was easier that way rather than leaving her car at the airport.  

            Emily was sleeping when they pulled up.  Margaret had her on her shoulder, the diaper bag and her purse on the other, and her keys in her free hand.  Hawkeye had managed to grab all the suitcases, and he followed Margaret to the door.

            Margaret opened the door quietly, and went strait for Emily's room to put the baby in the crib.  Then she went back to the living room where Hawkeye had just put the suitcases down.  He was looking around the place.  It was very neat and clean.  It was also very warm and comfortable.

            "What do you think?"  Margaret asked seeing the look on his face.

            He smiled at her, "It's a lot homier than my place.  And bigger," he added.  It wasn't a big apartment, but it was a nice size for Margaret and Emily.

            "Do you want something to drink?"  Margaret asked as she walked into the kitchen.

            He followed her, "Whatever you have is fine with me."

            He leaned over her as she opened the refrigerator.  All that was there was some juice.  Margaret had told her mother to help herself to whatever was there because she was going to be gone for a while.  Apparently she listened well.  "How's juice?"  She asked him.

            He smiled, "That's fine."  He stood back as he watched her get the cups and pour two glasses of juice.  "I didn't know you were a juice drinker," he said to her.

            She smiled at him as she poured.  "I'm not; that's Emily.  We'll have to go grocery shopping later.  I told my mom to clean everything out when I was in Missouri."

            "Your mom has a key?"

            "Yes," Margaret answered as she joined him at the kitchen table.  "She watches Emily for me two days a week, and sometimes they spend the day here."

            "Why don't you go get some groceries and I'll stay here with the baby," he suggested.  

            "What's the matter?  You don't like grocery shopping?"

            "No," he smiled.  "It's not that.  I just thought that it would be easier without the baby."  He secretly wanted to take a nap too.

            "That's fine with me.  Her diapers are in her room on the bottom of the changing table.  If she needs a change of clothes, she has some hanging in the closet, and also some in her dresser.  She'll want a snack soon after she gets up, just look and see what's here; she'll tell you what she wants.  If she wants some juice, give it to her in a cup.  There's some plastic ones in the cabinet.  Just have fun with her," she smiled.

            "I will.  When do I get to meet your mother?"

            "She's anxious to meet you too.  I forgot to tell you that I talked to her this morning while we were still at the hotel.  I think you were in the shower.  We're going to go over to her place for dinner tonight.  Is that okay with you?"

            "That's fine," he smiled.  "I can't wait to meet her."

            Margaret sat down and talked with her husband for a few more minutes before she left.  Not five minutes after she left, Hawkeye was fast asleep on the couch.

            Emily woke up an hour later.  She sat up and looked around.  She saw that she was back in her own house, and felt very good about that.  She was home now.  She stood up, "Mommy, Mommy," she called.  When her mother didn't come, she started to yell louder.  Still, there was no one there.  Then she got scared and started to cry.  "Mommy, Mommy, pease.  Mommy, pease."

            Hawkeye opened his eyes when he heard Emily crying.  He got up and ran to her.  She was standing in her crib and her little face was all red and tear stained.  "It's okay," Hawkeye said.  "I'm here."  He picked her up and calmed her down.  "Daddy's here, Munchkin.  I'm sorry, I didn't hear you."

            Emily lifted her head off of her father's shoulder, "Momma?"  She questioned.

            "Momma's at the store."  He could feel that her diaper was a little heavy.  "Let's change that diaper, and then you and I will get a snack," he said with a smile.  Emily smiled at him.  He changed her, and then the two of them got a snack.

            When Margaret came home she had her hands full of bags.  When she got the door opened she saw Hawkeye and Emily in the living room.  Emily was in a little pink t-shirt and her diaper.  She had her hands over her eyes trying to hide from her father.  He crawled up behind her and spun her around, "Gotcha."  She opened her eyes and laughed heartily as he tickled her.

            "Hi you two," Margaret said smiling from ear to ear.  

            Hawkeye smiled at her, "Hi.  You need help?"

            "Please," she said trying not to let the bags slip from her arms.

            "Hi Mommy," Emily said happily.  

            "Hi honey," she smiled.  "Are you having fun with Daddy?"

            "Yes," she smiled following her parents to the kitchen.

            When Margaret sat the bags down on the counter, Emily held her hands up to her mother.  Margaret picked her up and gave her a kiss.  "What are you doing running around with just your t-shirt and diaper on?"

            Emily pointed at her father, "Messy."

            Margaret smiled at Hawkeye and then looked back at her daughter, "Daddy made you all messy?  How did he do that?"  Emily shrugged her shoulders.  "You're a silly girl," Margaret smiled.  She placed Emily on her hip and then started to put the groceries away with her husband.  She loved coming home and seeing the two of them having fun.  The next to weeks were going to do the two of them a lot of good.

            "I talked to your mother a little while ago," Hawkeye said as he put things away.

            "You did?  What did you two talk about?"

            "Just asked each other a couple of questions.  I get the feeling she's a little upset with me for taking you and Emily away."

            "She knows that you were willing to come here, and that I was the one that decided to go to Boston.  I like Texas, but it's not my favorite place to live.  She knows that.  I think she's just trying to get to you."

            "Oh," he smiled.  "She wants to play, huh?  I can do that."

            "Pierce," she said with worry.  "What are you thinking?"

            "Nothing," he smiled.  "I'm going to be on my best behavior.  I promise."

            "Good," she said.  She opened the refrigerator door and put the milk in.  "We have to be there in a half an hour.  So, I'm going to get ready."  She gave him a kiss before she and Emily left the room.

            Margaret brought Emily with her into her room.  She was so used to taking the baby with her, that she didn't even think about leaving her with Hawkeye.  When she was done changing she changed Emily.  Hawkeye didn't need to change his clothes, so he just sat down and turned the TV on.

            Emily came running out of the hallway and into the living.  With Margaret's encouragement, she wanted to show her daddy her dress.  It was a little pink and white sundress, and Margaret had put white sandals on the child.  "Wow," he said with exaggeration.  "You are so pretty!"  He stood up and looked at Margaret.  "You look gorgeous too."

            Margaret smiled, "I'm wearing shorts and a shirt."

            "Yes," he grinned, "But I can see your sexy legs like that."  He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a deep kiss.

            "Mommy," Emily said tapping on her mother's leg.  "Mommy, me."

            Margaret parted from Hawkeye and looked down at the child.  Emily held her hands up and Margaret picked her up, "You don't like when Daddy and I kiss, do you?"  Emily smiled at her mother and leaned closer on her.  "You're going to have to get used to it.  There's going to be a lot of that from now on."

            "I'm ready to go meet your mother," Hawkeye announced.  "Are you two all set?"

            "Yep," Margaret said.  She grabbed her purse and the diaper bag, handing Hawkeye the keys to her car. 

            "I don't know where I'm going," he said taking the keys for her and holding the door open.

            "I'll tell you," she said.  "I don't feel like driving."

            Margaret's mother had dinner ready waiting when they got there.  She was very anxious to meet her new son-in-law, and see her granddaughter.  She missed that little girl very much.  When they got there, Kate was standing in the porch.

            When Margaret got out of the car with Emily, Emily saw her grandmother and wiggled out of her mother's arms.  She ran to the porch, but was slowed down by the stairs.  Her grandmother picked her up and gave her a hug.

            "Ooh, I missed you little girl.  Did you have a good time?"  Emily picked her head up off of her grandmother's shoulder and shook her head yes.  Kate saw that Hawkeye and Margaret were walking up the porch steps and smiled at them.  

            "Hi," she said to her daughter.  She gave her a quick hug and then looked at Hawkeye.  She had seen a couple of pictures of him, but he looked younger than his pictures.

            "Mom," Margaret said as she wrapped her arm around his waist.  "This is Hawkeye."

            Emily smiled and pointed to her father, "Daddy," she told her grandmother happily.  All of the adults smiled at her.

            Hawkeye shook her hand.  "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Houlihan."  He wasn't sure what to call her, and although he knew that Margaret's parents had been divorced, he also knew that her mother kept Houlihan as her last name.

            "Please," she smiled.  "Call me Kate."

            He smiled at her, "Okay, Kate."

            "So," she said examining him.  "You're the one that made my daughter open up, huh?  I didn't think she was ever going to loose those walls she had built up."

            "That would be me," he smiled.

            "And you're also the one that's going to take her and _my_ granddaughter away too," she added.

            "Mom," Margaret said almost scolding her.  "I told you that was my decision.  He was more than willing to move here."

            "I know, I know.  Come on inside.  It's hot out here."  Hawkeye smiled and followed them inside. It was a cute little house, and had a pool in the back yard.  If Margaret would have told him that, then he would have brought his shorts.  It was a lot hotter in Texas than it was in Boston.

            Kate had everyone sit down at the table.  She had dinner waiting, and served it to them.  While Emily was preoccupied with eating, the adults got a chance to talk.

            "When are you taking my girls away?"  Kate boldly asked.

            Hawkeye looked at Margaret for the answer, but she didn't help him.  She pretended to be helping Emily with her food.  "Well, I have to be back to work in two and half weeks.  Your daughter said that she'll be done with work in two weeks, and we'll drive back then."

            "Two weeks," she said shaking her head.  "That doesn't seem long enough."

            "It does to me," Margaret said.  "Emily and I have gone long enough without him.  We're not staying here while he's in Boston."  Hawkeye smiled proudly at her.  He was glad to hear her say that.  "I need him, and Emily needs to know that her daddy isn't going away."

            Kate smiled, "Good, I'm happy to hear that.  Keeping your family together is a wise decision."  Kate looked at Hawkeye.  "I've been trying to get her to go find you for two years now.  I'm glad to hear that she's hanging on and not letting you go."

            Margaret smiled, "You're damn right I'm not letting him go."

            Kate could see that her daughter was very happy now that he was back in her life.  She knew that Margaret longed for him, and loved him with all her heart.  She was also very happy to see that her granddaughter had a father now.  Emily deserved to have a chance to become a daddy's girl, like her own mother was.  

            "I talked to your sister yesterday," Kate informed her daughter.

            "Oh yeah?  How's she doing?"

            "She's doing great.  She made me promise not to tell you, but I can't.  She's having a baby."

            Margaret smiled brightly.  She knew her sister was trying to get pregnant, and was happy for her.  "That's wonderful."

            "She also asked me to move there since you and Emily are moving away."

            "Are you going to?"  Margaret asked as she took a bite of food.

            "I think so," Kate told her.  "Since the two of you will be living in neighboring states, it would be wise to live near by.  I haven't told her yet though."

            "Why not?  She would be thrilled.  She's wanted you closer by for two years now."

            "I don't know."  She didn't want to tell her daughter it was because she was torn between moving to Connecticut or Massachusetts.  She was really going to miss being such a hands-on Grandma with Emily.  Emily had brought the sunshine back into her life.  "Don't you tell her either, and don't tell her I told you about the baby!"

            "I won't," Margaret smiled.  "Why are you picking on my husband about moving us, then?"

            Kate smiled, "I just wanted to see how he would react."

            Hawkeye chuckled, "Did I pass?"

            "Yes, you passed.  Tell me what you two are planning on doing?  Are you driving east, or flying?"

            "Driving," Hawkeye answered.  "That way we can pack as much as we can into Margaret's car and not having to worry if it made the trip in one piece.  You know how some of the moving companies can be."

            "Yes I do.  Don't you have furniture?"

            "Yeah he does," Margaret said.  "But we still have to bring the baby's things.  And there are a few things that I would like to take along too.  It's easier than packing the car to the brim.  It'll take a few days to get there with Emily anyway.  She's not going to like being cooped up in a car all the time."

            "When your father and I used to travel with you and your sister at that age, it was pretty hard.  We had to make plenty of pit stops for diaper changes, and to walk around."  Kate looked at Hawkeye, "She was a handful.  Always had to be up doing something."

            Hawkeye smiled.  He could picture her running around getting into everything.  "Did she take orders well back then?"

            Kate laughed, "Are you kidding?  The only orders she took were from her father, and even that was rare.  She always found a way to get what she wanted from him."

            "I always thought that about her.  I've seen her with men who outranked her, but she always pulled rank on them."  He looked at her and smiled, "Including Colonel Potter."

            "Oh yeah," Kate said.  "She's always been good at finding a way to get what she wants.  You better watch out."

            "Hey," Margaret said when Hawkeye laughed.

            Hawkeye looked at her, "She didn't tell me anything new."

            Margaret turned her head and looked at Emily when she heard, "Uh oh."

            Emily had accidentally knocked her plate off of her tray.  Margaret pushed her chair out and picked up the plate and food.  It wasn't anything that as real messy, thankfully.  "It's okay," she said to her daughter.  

            "More, pease," Emily said.

            "Just a second," her mother said.  Margaret sat the plate and the dirty food off to the side, and sat back down.  She gave Emily some of her food.

            "There's one person who has Margaret wrapped around her finger," Hawkeye said.

            "I know," Kate smiled.  "Emily knows how to get what she wants from her mother.  I have a feeling she's going to be like her mother in that way."

            Margaret shook her head, "You two don't have any room to talk.  You both give her whatever she wants, whether it's good for her or not."

            "I'm her grandmother.  I'm supposed to spoil her."

            "And I just met her five days ago.  I'm trying to get into her good graces."

            "See," Kate said.  "We have reasons."

            "Excuses are more like it," Margaret said.

            "Oh yeah," Hawkeye challenged.  "What's yours?"

            Margaret smiled and said proudly, "She's my baby.  Right," she said looking at Emily.  "You're Mommy's spoiled baby."  

            Emily smiled at her mother, "Duice."  Margaret picked up the cup and handed it to Emily, making sure the child didn't spill any on herself.

            They spent the rest of dinner talking, and Hawkeye and Kate got to know each other better.  It was nice to meet some of Margaret's family, and see where she came from.  Kate offered to take Emily for the night.  Margaret initially said no because she wanted Hawkeye and Emily to be together, but Kate made her feel guilty.  She said that she deserved to spent time with her granddaughter since she was going to move her away.  Margaret couldn't say no to that, so she let her daughter spend her first night away from home.

            When the newlywed couple returned home, they sat down on the couch and cuddled.  "I really like your mother," he said.

            "Good," she smiled snuggling into him more.  "Then you'll like my sister too.  They're a lot alike.  I have to work tomorrow.  What are you going to do all day?"

            "I don't know.  What time do you work?"

            "Eight to six," she answered.

            "That's all day.  What time is Emily coming home?"

            "After lunch."

            "I'll probably sleep until then," he smiled.  "I plan on staying up late."

            "You do, huh?  Is there a good movie on TV?"  She smiled.

            He lifted her chin and placed a kiss on her lips, "I don't know.  I thought that since this will be out first night alone, we should take full advantage of it.  We won't have to worry about waking up the baby."

            She squinted her eyes, and smirked.  "Is that all you think about?"

            "What do you expect?  Your shorts are barely covering your ass, and your shirt is open just enough that I can't see what I want to.  I know you did that on purpose.  You love to tease me."

            Her smirk turned into a large smile, "Did it work?"

            "You know it did," he smiled and kissed her soft lips.  She stood up and grabbed his hand.  "Where are you taking me?"  She smiled back at him and kept walking as she led him to _their bedroom._


	13. bye13

            Margaret had to drag herself out of bed in the morning.  She was up a lot later than she should have been, and would have loved to have slept in with Hawkeye.  She took her shower, got dressed, and even blow dried her hair, all without waking Hawkeye.  She gave him a kiss on the forehead and then she left.

            Hawkeye slept in until eleven that morning.  He thought that he better get up and take a shower before Kate dropped Emily off.  He didn't really have any plans for the day, but thought that they may go to the park.  Margaret had told him that there was a park around the corner, and Emily loved to play in the sandbox.  She had also made it very clear that Emily was to be up from her nap by four at the very latest.  

            Margaret got home at six thirty.  Before she opened the door she could smell something very good cooking.  She had her keys out to unlock the door, but realized that there was no need.  She was use to coming home to a locked door, and it was nice to have someone be there for the first time of many.

            "I'm home," she said stepping inside.  

            "In the kitchen," Hawkeye called.

            Margaret hung her purse up on the coat rack, and walked into the kitchen.  Hawkeye had Emily in her highchair and she was eating some garlic bread.  Hawkeye was setting the table.

            "Hi," she smiled.  "It smells great in here."

            "Hi Mommy," Emily said with a big smile.

            Margaret walked over to her and gave her a kiss on the head, "Hi honey.  Did you have a good day with Daddy?"

            "Yes."

            "Did you go to the park?"

            "Pay san," she smiled.

            Margaret smiled, "You played in the sand; I bet you liked that.  Did Daddy play with you?"  Emily shook her head yes.  "Where did you get that garlic bread?  Did you two go to the store?"

            "No," Hawkeye answered as he brought over the sauce for the spaghetti that they were having.  "I made it."

            "You made it?"

            "Yes," he said taking her into his arms.  "Why are you so surprised?"

            "I don't know," she smiled wrapping her arms around his neck.  "I didn't think you knew how to cook."

            "Well you were wrong," he smiled and gave her a kiss.  

            Margaret wrapped her arms tighter around him and he held her closer to his body.  They stood there lost in each other until Emily brought them back.  "Mommy, Mommy," she repeated until Margaret parted her lips from Hawkeye.

            Margaret smiled at the child while staying in her husbands arms.  He smiled at his wife, "Why doesn't she like when we kiss?"  
  


            "I don't know," she said with amusement, "But we have to work on that."  She gave him a quick peck on the lips, and then removed herself from his arms.  "Do you need any help?"

            "No, just sit down.  It's all ready to eat.  Here's a plate for the baby," he handed her a little plastic plate.  He wasn't sure how much to give the little girl, so he let Margaret do it.

            Margaret put some spaghetti on Emily's plate and cut it up.  "You're going to need a bath tonight.  I bet half of this sauce is going to makes its way right into your pretty blonde hair."

            Emily smiled and eagerly accepted the food.  She loved spaghetti.  "Ank ooo," she said to her mother.

            "You're welcome," Margaret smiled.  Hawkeye placed some food on Margaret's plate and waited for her to taste it.  "Mmm," this is really good.  Where did you learn to cook?"

            Hawkeye smiled.  He was pleased that she liked it.  "My father taught me.  We used to take turns cooking after Mom died.  I was able to hone my skills when Dad got sick.  I took care of him for his last six months."

            "You did?  He wasn't in the hospital?"

            "No," Hawkeye said twisting some spaghetti onto his fork.  "He didn't want to die in a hospital; he wanted to be at home.  The first six months I was back from Korea, I spent at home with him.  I didn't work at all."

            Margaret could see the tears coming to his eyes as he thought about those last days with his father.  "I'm so sorry.  I would have been there if I'd known."

            He smiled at her, "I know you would have been.  We've already come to the conclusion that you and I are a couple of fools."

            "When it comes to love we are.  So, did you move to Boston right away?"

            "Pretty much," he answered.  "I still have the house back in Crabapple Cove, so if you ever want to see where I came from, we have a place to stay."  He put a forkful of food into his mouth.

            "Are you paying the mortgage on that?"

            "No.  My father paid it off years ago."  He smiled at her, "So I guess we're owners of a vacation house in seaside Maine.  Have you ever been to Maine?

            "Uh huh," she answered with a mouthful of food.

            "Is there anywhere you haven't been?"

            She smiled at him.  "My father was in the army and we followed him everywhere he went.  I've been to all the states, a few islands, and a few countries."

            "I don't know how we're going to take a nice vacation if you've been everywhere," he teased.

            "Well I haven't been there with you," she said sweetly.  She didn't mean it to come out as sweet as it did.

            He smiled at her.  "I still owe you a honeymoon."

            She chuckled, "I think it would be more like a family vacation."  She looked over at Emily who was very involved in eating her meal.

            "We could get your mother to watch her, and just you and I will take off."

            "That sounds wonderful, but she's too little.  Last night was only her first night away from me.  A honeymoon will just have to wait. Besides," she added with a smile.  "I'd take a house over a honeymoon any day, and I think that's what we're going to have to do."

            "You're going to get both," he said with determination.  "And the honeymoon won't be in Maine either.  I'm going to take you some place tropical."

            She smiled, "I like how that sounds.  But I would like to go to Maine one day and see where you grew up.  Do you go back there often?"

            "It's a little hard since my father passed away, but I do make it there on occasion.  I like to go up on Father's Day and his birthday, but I also go up on Mother's Day, and her birthday.  It's sad, but I can't let them be alone on those days."

            "I understand," she nodded.  "I wish I would have been able to meet your father."

            "So do I.  I talked about you all the time," he smiled.  "He kept telling me to go find you, but I didn't want to leave him."

            "I was with my father too.  He had a stroke, and I took care of him for his last three weeks.  My sister and I did actually."

            "I'm really sorry to hear that he died.  I know how much you love him."

            "It's hard," she said with a sad smile.  "It was very hard.  I found out I was pregnant with Emily three weeks after he passed away.  She pulled me up out of the dumps," she smiled glancing at Emily.  "I don't know what I would have done if she hadn't come along.  That little girl made me realize that life has to go on, and that it's okay to move on."

            Emily smiled at her mother and held out a strand of spaghetti, "Some?"  Margaret smiled at her and ate the spaghetti off of the child's finger.  "Dood?"

            "Very good," Margaret smiled.  "Thank you."

            Emily smiled brightly, "El-come," she managed to get out before putting more food in her mouth.

            Hawkeye smiled at his wife and daughter.  "Thank God we have Colonel Potter.  He's the closet thing she'll ever have to a grandfather."

            Margaret smiled, "I think he likes that role.  I still want her to know who her grandfathers were, though.  And her grandmother," she added.

            "Good," he said happily.  "They may be gone from this world, but they will never be forgotten."  He lifted his glass of wine, and Margaret followed.  "To the ones that are no longer here, but will always be near."

            Margaret smiled at him and they drank to his toast.  He was a good man, and she loved him.  She would probably kick herself for the rest of her life for not telling him she loved him long ago.  

            They finished dinner talking about their days.  Hawkeye listened as Margaret told him about her first day back, and that everyone was sad to see her go.  Then Margaret listened with delight as Hawkeye told her about his first day alone with Emily.

            "That was a wonderful dinner," Margaret said as she cleared the table.

            "Thank you," he said.  "For my next feat, I'm going to do the dishes."

            Margaret smiled, "I'm very impressed.  You're so domesticated."

            "Well don't get used it," he warned.  "It probably won't last long, so you better enjoy it while you can."

            "I think I will," she said as she brought a washcloth over to Emily.

            Emily turned her head away, "No Mommy.  No."

            "Yes, baby, yes," Margaret said.  She got the child's face washed off as quickly as possible, and then the little girl's hands.  Emily didn't fight when her hands were washed, but it was another story with her face.  She did not like that.  "All done."

            "Out," Emily held her hands up.  "Pease."

            Margaret picked up the child.  "I missed you today," she kissed Emily.  "I didn't get to give you a kiss goodbye this morning.  I'm not used to that."

            Emily looked down at her mother's shirt.  "Messy," she said.  She noticed that, but she didn't notice that it was because she transferred it from her shirt to her mother's shit.

            "That's okay.  It's just my work clothes.  Let's go get you a bath."

            "Yay," Emily cheered and clapped.  "Bubbles."

            "Yes, with bubbles," Margaret smiled.  "We'll be in the bathroom," she said to Hawkeye.

            "Okay," he smiled.

            "Come on," Margaret said to the baby on her hip.  "Let's get you out of those clothes, and into some nice warm bath water."

            "Yay," Emily said.

            Hawkeye watched as the two of them disappeared down the hall.  He was so happy.  He still felt a little like an outsider at times, but the times were becoming more and more rare.  Spending the afternoon with his daughter was one of the best things that he ever did.  He was looking forward to all day with her tomorrow.

            Hawkeye finished cleaning up, and then made his way toward the splashing and laughing that was coming from the bathroom.  He poked his head in and saw Margaret on her knees at the tub, and Emily splashing and laughing.

            Emily noticed Hawkeye and smiled, "Hi Daddy."

            Margaret looked back over her shoulder and smiled at him.  He got down on his knees next to her.  "Hi, munchkin," he said to his daughter.  "Are you having fun?"

            "Yes," she smiled.  "Pay?"

            Hawkeye looked at Margaret with a puzzled look.  Margaret smiled, "She wants you to play with her."

            "I can do that," he smiled.  He looked at Margaret and saw that she was all wet, "Did Emily give you bath too?"

            "She always does."  Margaret gave him a kiss on the cheek, "I'm going to go get out of these wet clothes and into my pajamas.  See if you can get her out in a few minutes."

            "No out," Emily said.

            Margaret stood up, "Okay.  Daddy's going to play with you."  She looked at Hawkeye, "Soon.  She's turning into a prune."

            "I'll try," he said.  After five minutes, Hawkeye coaxed Emily out of the tub.  He wrapped her chubby little body in a towel, and then walked into his room.  Margaret was in there.  "She's out of the tub," Hawkeye said.

            "Good," Margaret said taking Emily into her arms.  "You smell so good and clean."  Margaret laid Emily on the bed, and put a diaper on the baby, and than pajamas.  Emily co-operated with her mother while she got dressed.  "Wow," Margaret said.  "These jammies are too small.  You're getting so big."

            "You want me to get you another pair?"  Hawkeye asked.

            "Please," Margaret said as she begun taking the pajamas off her daughter.

            "Where are they?"  Hawkeye hollered from the room across the hall.

            "Bottom drawer," she said.  She leaned down towards Emily, and kissed her.  "Mommy missed you today.  I can't wait until we get to Boston.  I'm going to stay home with you, and we're going to buy a house."  She looked over her shoulder to see Hawkeye coming back.

            "Here you go," he said handing her the clothes.

            "Me," Emily said.

            "Yes, they're for you."  Margaret smiled.

            After Emily was dressed, Margaret spent time in the living room playing and cuddling with her daughter.  She would only get to see Emily for two hours on the days that she worked.  She'd get home at six thirty, and Emily would be sleeping by eight thirty.  Margaret was looking forward to the day when she didn't have to stuff an entire day with her daughter into two hours.

            Margaret put Emily in her crib, and then she went out to the living room to join her husband.  He was sitting on the couch with the TV on.  Margaret sat down next to him, curled her legs up underneath her, and rested her head against his chest.  "What are you watching?"

            "Nothing much," he smiled at her and wrapped his arm around her.  "You look tired."

            "I am," she said through a yawn.  "You kept me up all night, and I had to get up at six thirty this morning.  I had a great night last night, but it made for a long day."

            "That's funny.  I feel fully rested," he smiled at her.

            "I'm sure you do," she said playfully hitting his chest.  "You probably slept right up until the minute my mother brought Emily home."

            "I did not.  I was up at eleven."  Margaret rolled her eyes, and although he couldn't see her face, he knew that she did that.  "Are you saying you want to go bed now?"

            "Are you tired?"  She asked looking up at him.

            "No."

            "Then no," she answered.  "I don't want to go to bed unless you're there with me."

            He lifted her chin and kissed her.  "I know something that will make me tired.  Are you up to it?"

            She smiled, "I may be married and have a child, but I am still Hot Lips Houlihan."

            "So you are," he smiled and started kissing her soft lips.  "I hope you still say that in years to come."

            Margaret chuckled a little, "We'll just have to wait and see."  She pushed him back on the couch and started kissing him.

            Margaret went to work the next morning.  Emily was still sleeping, and so was Hawkeye.  She gave the two deep sleepers a kiss and then she left.  She was used to getting Emily up with her in the morning, and then dropping her off at the sitters, but she didn't have to do that now.  It gave her time to sit down and have her coffee while looking over the paper.  She felt like she was on vacation.

            Hawkeye woke up when Emily did.  This time he heard her calling to him before she started crying.  He made the two of them a simple breakfast to start off the day.  Emily was getting used to having him around all the time.  It had been a week since she met him, but being so little, she accepted him easily.  There were still some times that she wasn't sure what to think.  She didn't like sharing her mommy, but she loved having her daddy around to play with.  He was very fun.

            When Margaret came home, she found her husband and daughter on the floor playing.  It was funny to see a full grown man playing with dolls, and Margaret loved it.  As soon as Emily noticed her mother, she jumped up and ran to her.  Then she spent the rest of the night in her mother's arms.

            Everyday was pretty much the same for the rest of the week.  On the weekend, Margaret was able to spend time with her family, and she took full advantage of that.  They went to the zoo one afternoon, and swimming at Kate's house the next.  Kate wanted to spend as much time as possible with her granddaughter, since she only had five days left with her.  Friday would be Margaret's last day of work, and they were planning on leaving early Saturday morning.


	14. bye 14

            When Saturday morning came around, Kate was there to bid her family goodbye.  It was hard letting her daughter and granddaughter go.  Margaret and Kate had become so close since Emily was born, and Emily was the joy of her grandmother's life.  She didn't want to let that baby go.  She didn't want Emily to forget her.

            Kate and Margaret shed plenty of tears that morning.  Emily was confused seeing those two cry, but Hawkeye kept the baby's attention on other things so she wouldn't get upset.  Needless to say, Hawkeye felt terrible as they drove away.  His wife was sitting next to him with tears streaming down her cheeks, and his mother-in-law was crying all alone on the sidewalk as they drove off.

            "You okay, honey?"  He asked reaching for her arm and squeezing it gently.  Margaret wiped her tears away and shook her head yes.  "Are you sure?"

            "I'm sure," she said.  "It's hard."

            "All you have to do is say the word, and I'll turn this car around and we'll make a life here in Texas."

            She smiled at him, "That's sweet, but no.  My mom will won't be far behind.  I want her to be able to go live near my sister.  Abby needs her.  She married a career army man.  They do what the Potters did.  They have a home, but he travels a lot.  That leaves her home alone, and with a baby on the way, she'll need someone around."

            "It's very nice of you to share your mother," Hawkeye said.

            Margaret smiled, "Well, she is my baby sister, and I have to make sure that she's taken care of."

            Hawkeye smiled at her.  "You know, it's a good thing you have a car?"

            She was puzzled.  That didn't have anything to do with what they were talking about.  "What?"

            "Well, I don't have a car.  We're going to need one to look for a house, and then I'll need one to get back and forth to work."

            "Why don't you have one?  How do you get to Maine?"

            "I live in the city.  It's easier to walk or take a cab.  When I go to Maine, I rent a car."

            "We'll have to add that to our list of things to buy.  Emily and I can't be stuck without a car while you're at work all day.  We'd be cooped up in the house all the time."

            "Yeah, you're right.  We have a lot we need to get, don't we?"

            "Yes we do," she smiled.  He made it sound like that was the first time he ever thought about it.  "That's one reason we can't go on a honeymoon.  We need a house, a car, and we also need to fill our house with furniture.  I hope you have some money saved."

            "Are you kidding?  I'm a surgeon and live in a small one bedroom apartment.  I don't own a car, and believe me, I don't spend much money on furniture.  The most expensive thing in my house is the TV.  Most of money goes right into the bank."

            "In that case, we're definitely going to need to buy a lot of things when we find a house.  I can't imagine that you have very good taste when it comes to decorating and choosing furniture."

            "What makes you say that?"  He asked pretending to be hurt by her comment.

            Margaret chuckled, "Do you remember the Swamp?"

            "You have a point," he smiled.  "Which way do I go?"  He asked as they approached an intersection.

            "Right," she answered.

            They traveled the rest of the day, and decided to stop at dinner time.  Margaret knew that it was a good time to stop for Emily.  She had been very good with the traveling, but was getting restless.  Margaret didn't blame her; she wanted to get out of the car herself.

            They stopped for dinner, and got a hotel room for the night.  It wasn't anything fancy; it was just a one room road side hotel.  It had a pool though, and the three of them went swimming for about an hour that night.  Emily loved splashing around in the water, and her parents loved when she was having fun.

            "Okay, Miss Emily," Margaret said.  She was out of the pool and had a towel in her arms for Emily.  "Time to get out."

            "Say in," she said cuddling closer to her father.  She was still in the pool in his arms.

            "No," Margaret told her.  "It's time to get out."

            "You better listen to Mommy," Hawkeye said.  He held Emily up and handed her to Margaret.  

            Emily started crying.  She wanted to stay in the pool.  "No, no," she fought.  "In," she said as she tried to wiggle out of her mother's arms.  "No, Mommy."

            "Emily," Margaret said sternly.  "It's time to get out."

            "Pease," the child begged.

            "No," her mother said wrapping the child in the towel.  "It's late and we need to get back to the room."  Emily had stopped fighting, but was still crying.  "How would you like to take a bath and play in the water?"

            "Baff," Emily smiled.

            "Okay," Margaret said.  Emily laid her head down on her mother's shoulder, and they waited for Hawkeye to dry off enough to go back to the room.  Margaret wanted to put Emily in the tub to wash all the chlorine off.  They were planning on leaving early in the morning, and there wouldn't be enough time to get Emily cleaned up.

            When they got back to the room, Margaret ran the bath water for Emily.  Hawkeye poked his head into the small bathroom.  Margaret was in her bikini kneeling over the tub washing Emily's hair.  "I'm going to grab a snack at the store across the street.  Do you want anything?"

            She answered without looking up. "Yeah I'll take something.  Get something for the baby too."  She always got hungry for a snack after she went swimming, and she didn't imagine that it was any different for Emily.

            "I'll be back in a few minutes," Hawkeye called as he went out the door.

            Margaret washed the soap out of Emily's hair, and then let her play for a couple of minutes.  All Margaret had to do was tell Emily that Daddy had a snack for her, and she was ready to get out of the tub.  Margaret had the baby in her diaper and pajamas by the time that Hawkeye came back.

            "Hi Daddy," Emily said from the bed.  She was sitting on it with her mother.  

            "Hi Munchkin," he smiled.  "I got you a snack."  Emily slid off of the bed, and then went to her father.  He gladly picked her up.  Margaret stood up and looked in the bag.  "I wasn't sure what you wanted the baby to have, so I got a couple of things."

            Margaret picked the crackers up, "This is fine."  She opened the package and handed Emily a cracker.  Margaret sat down at the little table, and Hawkeye followed her lead, setting Emily on his lap.  "We should leave by seven tomorrow."

            "Seven?"  He choked out.  "I don't even get up at seven."

            "Well you will tomorrow," she smiled.  "It's easier to travel in the morning, and I have a funny feeling that Emily isn't going to be as cooperative as she was today."

            "Yeah, by four o'clock she was pretty sick of being in that car.  It's going to be a long two days, isn't it?"  

            "I think so," Margaret said.  "After listening to an hour of her screaming in the car, I'd say that's a pretty good guess.  We're just going to have to stop a little more and let her get out and run around."

            "Why don't we drive at night?  That way she can sleep, and won't even know."

            "That would be great, but who's going to stay up all night?"

            "Good point," he said.  "We'll have to suffer then."

            "The more we stop, the better it will be.  We still have two days of driving in front of us, and you don't have to be back to work for four more days.  We have time.  I'll just have to try harder to make it more fun for her."

            "I hope you succeed.  It's hard on the nerves hearing her scream."

            "I know, I was there too," she said.  She stood up and grabbed a bottle of milk out of the cooler for Emily.  She sat the bottle on the table in front of Hawkeye, "I'm going to take a shower and wash this chlorine out of my hair."

            "Can I join you?"

            "Sorry," she looked back before she entered the bathroom.  "You have to stay with the baby."

            Hawkeye looked at Emily.  She was reaching for another cracker, and had already gotten crumbs all over the two of them.  "You are a messy eater."

            Margaret took her time in the shower and let the hot water run all over her.  Hawkeye was right about the baby making things tense in the car.  Her shoulders got tight just thinking about the next two days.  She let the pressure of the hot water work out the knots.

            When she got out, Hawkeye was just putting Emily in the play pen.  She had fallen asleep.  He turned around and saw Margaret standing there in a towel.  "Sexy," he raised his eyebrows.  

            Margaret smiled and rolled her eyes.  "You want to take a shower?"

            "Nah, I'll take one in the morning.  I'm going to need it to wake me up."  He walked over and stood behind her as she looked in the mirror.  "We look good together," he noticed.  Margaret just smiled.  He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck.

            "You should stop," she said.

            "Why?"  He kissed her neck again.

            Margaret placed her hands on his face and pushed it away.  "Because," she smiled at him through the mirror.  He didn't listen and started kissing her again.  "Hawkeye," she said trying to sound like she wanted him to stop, but it didn't.  "Hawk," she tried again.  His hands moved to her towel, and she clutched it in her own hands, and spun around.  

            "What's the matter?"  He was puzzled.

            Margaret pointed to the sleeping baby, and Hawkeye followed her finger.  "This is a one-room, room.  The only thing we can do tonight is sleep."

            "Damn," he said with disappointment.  "I forgot about that.  I'm so used to her being in another room."  They had made love every night since they had been together.  The hotel that they were staying at in Missouri was more like a condo, so it had separate bedrooms.

            Margaret smiled and kissed him lightly on the lips, "Sorry. You're gonna have to wait until we get to Boston."  She walked over to her suitcase and pulled out something to sleep in.

            "Two more days," he slumped his shoulders.  He sat down on the edge of the bed.  Margaret chuckled as she let her towel fall and put her pajamas on.  She could feel Hawkeye's eyes watching her the whole time.  "If you keep teasing me like that, I don't know if I'll be able to stand it."

            "Too bad," she said with an evil smile.

            Hawkeye smiled, "You're an evil woman."

            "I know."  She pulled the towel out of her wet hair and walked back over to the mirror.  She picked up a brush and started brushing her wet hair.  "Did you get anything sweet to eat?"

            "I got a couple of candy bars.  Why didn't you have one when the baby and I were eating?"

            "Because if I did, she would have wanted some, and I don't like her having a lot of sugar.  And especially not at night," she added.  She put her brush down, and went over to the table.  "Do you want one?"

            "Yeah, gimme one," he said.  Margaret grabbed the candy bars and sat on the bed next to her husband.  "Thanks.  So, what do we do now?"

            "Sleep," she answered, unwrapping the chocolate.  "There isn't anything else we can do.  Aren't you tired?"

            "Kinda."  He stood up and moved the covers down.  He let Margaret crawl into bed, and than got in next to her.  "You know what?"  

            "What?"  She asked as she settled into bed.  She had taken two bites out of her candy bar and handed it to Hawkeye to sit on the nightstand.

            He shut the lamp off and laid back.  "Emily didn't even ask for you before she fell asleep."

            Margaret wasn't sure if she should feel happy or not.  Emily always asked for her mother when she was tired, but Hawkeye was her father, and the two of them had become a lot closer in the past two weeks.  "That's good, right?"

            He smiled.  He could read her like a book.  She was lying on her side, and he wrapped his arm around her.  "I think so.  She's starting to love me as much as she loves you.  Why do you sound so unsure about that?"

            "I don't know," she lied.

            "Margaret, no one is ever going to take your place.  Even children who have both of their parents around from the day they are born always hold their mother up higher than anyone.  You know that no one can top Mommy, and you're Mommy."

            Margaret smiled and held his hand closer to her.  "How come you always know what I'm thinking?"

            "Because I know you that well," he laid his head close to hers and held her as close as he could.  "It's still so early."

            "Yeah, but I'm tired, and there isn't anything to do except sleep."  She yawned.  "We have to get up early anyway."

            He kissed her cheek.  "I love you."

            "Love you," she said sleepily.

            When six o'clock came around, the alarm clock went off.  Neither Hawkeye nor the baby heard it, but Margaret did.  She rolled out of her husband's arms and reached over him to shut the alarm clock off.  She lay in bed for a minute trying to wake up, and then climbed out of the bed.  She was pretty much dreading the day in front of her, but she knew that the sooner they got going, the sooner they would be in Boston.

            She got dressed, ran a brush though her hair, and grabbed her purse.  She figured that her husband and daughter were going to have a hard time getting out of bed, and thought that having some breakfast there waiting for them would help them along a little.  She ran out and got something to eat, and then headed back to the room.  

            She turned the light on when she got in, and neither Hawkeye nor Emily stirred.  She sat the food down on the table and walked over to the bed, "Hawkeye.  You have to get up."  He moaned and rolled over.  "Pierce, get up."  She shook his shoulder.  He started to move a little, "Honey, it's time to get up."

            Hawkeye opened his eyes and focused on the beautiful features on his wife's face.  "What time is it?"

            "It's six thirty.  I got you some coffee and breakfast."  She bent down and kissed his forehead.  Margaret walked over to the play pen that was on the other side of the bed, and bent over it.  "Emily, honey.  Wake up."  Emily stirred a little, but didn't wake.  "Come one baby," Margaret urged.  She picked Emily up, and the baby opened her eyes.  She looked at her mother and laid her head down on Margaret's shoulder.  "No, don't go back to sleep.  It's time to wake up, and get some breakfast."  Emily kept her head down.

            Hawkeye was lying in bed watching, "Where does she get that from?"

            "You," Margaret smiled.  She sat down at the table and moved Emily to her lap.  "Do you want something to eat, baby?"  Emily shook her head no and leaned against her mother.  Margaret got the food out of the bag, and opened the containers.  

            "What dija get?"  Hawkeye asked getting out of bed.  He sat down at the table.

            "Eggs, sausage, toast, hash browns, orange juice, and coffee."  She put some food on a paper plate and started eating.  Soon Emily wanted some, and Margaret gave it to her.  Emily sat on her mother's lap and ate in complete relaxation.  She leaned against her mother and held her hand out motioning for more when she was ready.

            When they were finished eating, Hawkeye took his shower while Margaret dressed Emily and packed and cleaned everything up.  Margaret took Emily with her to check out while Hawkeye got dressed and brought the suitcases to the car.  They didn't leave at seven like Margaret wanted to, but it wasn't much later.

            Emily was very good all morning in the car.  She was still tired, so she was content being in her mother's arms.  When lunch time started approaching she started getting antsy and wanted to get out of the car.  They stopped for lunch and let Emily run around at a small playground at a rest area.  Hawkeye and Margaret were both running around with her.  She had so much energy and was all over the place.  

            Emily though a fit when they had to leave.  She did not want to be in that car.  Margaret tried to occupy the baby's mind and hands with games, songs, stories, and anything else that crossed her mind.  Finally Emily fell asleep around two, but woke up only an hour later.  From three o'clock to four, she cried and screamed, wanting to get out of the car.  

            Hawkeye pulled over, so that he and Emily could run around a little.  He coaxed her back into the car by telling her she could have a snack, but she had to get back into the car and be good.  It worked, and by this time Margaret didn't care if they had to bribe the child to be good.  Normally she would have disapproved, but not while traveling.  They drove for another two hours before stopping for dinner and a room.

            Hawkeye and Margaret were pretty tired from the stress of a crying baby, but Emily was in a good mood now that they weren't in the car.  They didn't go swimming this time; they stayed in the room after dinner.  Margaret gave Emily a bath, and let her get tired and relaxed from the warm water.  As soon as Emily was out of the tub, she wanted her bottle.  It was past her normal bedtime, so she was pretty tired.  Margaret put the child to bed, and then relaxed for a few minutes.  

            She and Hawkeye both took their showers that night.  They wanted to leave by four in the morning hoping that they would make it to Boston by dinner time.  That way the baby would be sleeping for a few hours while they traveled.  Hawkeye thought that was a very good idea.  

            The next morning the traveling was easier.  Emily slept until eight, and then was quiet because she had just woken up.  Margaret gave her a bottle of juice and breakfast while they drove.  They wanted to go as many miles as possible with Emily calm.

            It didn't work too long.  This was the third day that the baby had been cooped up in a car, and she was sick of it.  She hated it, and wanted to get out and go home.  Her parents wanted it just as much as she did; if not more.  

            They finally arrived in Boston at two.  Margaret had never been so glad to be in the city of Boston in her life.  When Hawkeye pulled the car into the parking garage, she practically jumped out of it with Emily in her arms.  The baby had not taken her nap yet, and was more irritable than she had ever been before.  Emily wanted to get out of her mother's arms and walk, so Margaret sat her down and grabbed her hand.  Emily didn't like that and wanted to walk by herself, but there was no way Margaret was going to let her go free in a parking garage.

            Hawkeye grabbed what he could out of the car, and lead the way to their apartment.  He was so glad to be out of that car.  He had been around Emily for almost four weeks now, and had never seen her behave that badly.  He could see Margaret was furious, but was trying to keep herself calm.  She knew that it was hard on Emily, and understood that for a baby, being in a car for three days was pure torture.


	15. bye 15

            Margaret immediately put Emily down when they got into the apartment.  The child was impatient and overtired.  Margaret kept an eye on Emily while she looked around the apartment.  She could see the entire thing from the doorway.  The door opened into the living room, and the kitchen was off of that.  Then there were two doors off of the living room.  One went to the bedroom and the other went to the bathroom.  Margaret knew what Hawkeye meant about the place being too small for them.

            The walls were basically bare, and the furniture had something to be desired.  It looked comfortable, but it was ugly.  The couch was going to have to go; she could see that right away.  They needed to put a bed in there, and the couch wasn't going to fit too.  Margaret made the short trip to the kitchen to get a better look at it.  It was tiny and had a small table pushed up against the wall.  

            "What do you think?"  Hawkeye asked with a smile.  He knew that she was surprised to see such a small place, but he warned her.  Margaret turned around and looked at him.  He couldn't help but laugh at the look on her face.  "I told you it was small."

            "I know," she said giving him a small smile.  "We need to look for a place right away."

            "I'll make a few calls, and see if we can start looking tomorrow.  At least we're not in the car anymore."

            Margaret walked closer to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his chest.  "Thank God," she sighed as he wrapped his arms around her.

            "Next time we go anywhere, we're flying."

            Margaret chuckled, "I agree."  He held her there and let her relax a little.  She was so tense.  He ran his hands up and down her back comfortingly.  "That feels so good."  

            Emily ran into the room crying, and Hawkeye let his wife go.  "What's the matter, munchkin?"  He picked her up, but she wanted Margaret.  

            "Mommy," she cried straining to get to her mother.  He knew Margaret was on edge, but had to hand the child over.

            Margaret took the child in her arms and held her.  "What happened?  I thought you were exploring."

            Emily lifted her head up, "Fall."

            "You fell down?  Did you get hurt?"  Emily shook her head no.  "Then what's the matter?"  Emily shrugged her shoulders.  "You don't know?"  Emily shook her head no.

            Hawkeye watched Margaret in amazement.  Not five minutes ago she was ready to pull her hair out, but now she was relaxed.  He didn't know what happened in that span of time to cause such an incredible transformation.

            "Bubba," Emily pleaded trying to hold back tears.

            "Yeah," Margaret said softly.  "You can have your bottle."  Margaret grabbed a bottle out of the diaper bag that was filled with juice.  She would have rather given the baby milk, but at the time they didn't have any.  "Here you go, honey."

            Emily took it in her chubby little hands and looked at her mother with pleading deep blue eyes, "Sit me."

            "Okay, we'll go sit down."  

            "Ban-ket," Emily said.

            Margaret grabbed the pink blanket out of the diaper bag and the cradled the baby while they walked to the couch and sat down.  Hawkeye followed them, and sat in the chair.  

            "How did you do that?"  He asked Margaret.

            She was puzzled.  "Do what?"  

            "You were ready to scream when you walked in the house, and now you're fine.  What the hell happened?"

            Margaret smiled, "I just needed a hug, I guess."

            He smiled, "I'll have to remember that.  She's out already," he looked at the baby.

            Margaret looked down lovingly at the child, and brushed some curls back.  "She's had a rough couple of days.  A lot has changed for her in such a short time."

            "She seems to be adjusting well."

            "I hope she keeps it up," Margaret looked at him.  "She's a lot more comfortable with you now, but that was when she was in her own house.  She's not familiar with this place, and before she'll have a chance to get comfortable with it, we'll be moving."

            Hawkeye looked at the child.  He had never thought of it that way.  From Emily's position things must be pretty scary.  "She may be okay though.  You're going to be with her all the time.  I'm sure she's going to like that change."

            Margaret smiled.  He was right about that.  Changing was going to be easier on her because her mother was always going to be there with her.  "You're right.  She will have me all the time.  That'll give her security."

            "I'm going to go get the rest of the stuff out of the car.  If you want to lay her in the bed, go ahead."

            "Are you going to be able to get everything alone?"  She asked.  There was a lot in the car.

            "I'll get Bob to help me.  He's a neighbor."  He stood up and gave Margaret a kiss on the cheek.  "I love you."

            "I love you too."

            Hawkeye knocked on his neighbor's door and was invited in.  He accepted and sat down for a cup of coffee.  He asked for help, and then explained why.  He had to fill them in on the short version of the story, and then they started unloading the car.  

            They grabbed the light things first and then made their way to the apartment.  They were quiet because of the baby sleeping.  When Hawkeye opened the door, he expected to see Margaret there, but she wasn't.  He found her in the bedroom.  When she laid Emily down in there, she laid down too.  She fell asleep, so Hawkeye closed the door and let her stay that way.

            When they had everything in the apartment, Bob made Hawkeye promise to introduce his wife and daughter soon.  Hawkeye was happy to promise him.  He was looking forward to showing off his family.  He told Bob he'd introduce them at another time, and went back into his apartment.  He checked to see if Margaret was still sleeping, and she was.  She and Emily looked so comfortable that he decided to lie down too.  He lay down on the other side of Emily, and went right to sleep.

            Emily was the one to wake up her parents.  She was glad that they were there, because she had no idea where she was.  "Mommy, 'ake up."  Margaret opened her eyes, and saw that Hawkeye was there.  She looked at the clock.  It was four.  "Hi, Mommy," Emily said cheerfully.

            "Hi, baby.  You seem to be in a better mood.  It's a lot nicer sleeping in a bed rather than a car."

            "No car," Emily shook her head.

            "Don't worry," Margaret smiled.  "We're not going in the car.  We're staying here for a while.  This is going to be our new home."

            Emily glanced at her father and then back to her mother, "Ake up?"

            "No," Margaret said getting up.  "Let him sleep.  Come on," she held her hands out and picked up her daughter.  "Let's see what Daddy did with all our stuff."  They walked out into the living room and saw everything in the middle of the floor.  

            "Messy," Emily said.

            "Yes it is," Margaret agreed.  "We're going to have to organize it a little better.  Do you want to help me put your crib back together?"  Emily smiled and shook her head yes.  She liked helping her mother do anything.  She felt so big when she did.  "Then we can get the rooms set up tonight.  It's going to take work to make this comfortable for all of us."

            Margaret and Emily put the crib together and then started working on organizing some of the other things.  Hawkeye slept for another hour, and they let him.  Margaret took a two hour nap with the baby, so she figured it was only fair that he was allowed to too.  

            By the time that Emily went to bed, Margaret and Hawkeye had moved the bed to the living room and sat up the bedroom as Emily's room.  The couch was off to the side as much as possible so that there was room for the bed, leaving very little room to walk.  They needed to get rid of the couch as soon as possible.

            Hawkeye never got a chance to call the realtor, but he did call the next day.  The soonest they could look at a place was a week away.  As soon as they found that out, they started giving away everything that they didn't need to make room to live in.  Emily needed room to play in, and Hawkeye and Margaret needed room so they didn't feel trapped.

            After the first week passed, Emily started becoming comfortable with her new surroundings.  She loved the fact that her mother was always there, and then her father would come home at night and spoil her rotten.  She liked her new life, but she did miss one person.  She would ask her mother about her grandmother at times.

            The first house they looked at was closer to the city than they wanted.  The realtor was a little slow.  After they had been looking for three weeks, they found a town that they liked.  Then they were able to look at more houses.

            Hawkeye walked into the tiny apartment, and saw Margaret and Emily in the kitchen.  They were making dinner.  It was wonderful to come home to a place filled with life rather than an empty apartment.  "The most handsome, smartest, wonderful man that ever lived is home," he called as he shut the door.

            Margaret smiled and rolled her eyes.  "Hi, handsome."

            He walked into the kitchen and gave her a kiss.  "Hi Daddy," Emily said causing him to release Margaret's lips.

            He smiled at the child and picked her up, "Hi there cutie.  What are you making?"

            "Food," she answered smiling at him.

            "Oh," he gave her a kiss on the cheek.  "What did you and Mommy do today?"

            "Mommy mad."

            Hawkeye was confused.  "What?  Was Mommy mad at you?"  Emily shook her head no.  "Well, who was Mommy mad at?"

            "Man," she answered.

            Hawkeye looked at Margaret.  "What is she talking about?"

            Margaret smiled at Emily, "You have a big mouth."

            "Well," Hawkeye said.  "Are you going to tell me?"  He sat down at the table with Emily.

            Margaret answered him as she continued preparing dinner.  "Emily and I walked down to see the realty agent today."

            "You didn't," he said dreading what was to come.  She had been angry with that guy for not doing a better job and wanted to give him a piece of her mind.  

            "Yes I did.  I'm getting sick of living in this place.  Our hotel in Missouri was bigger than this.  I know that man is lazy and I'm sick of going at his pace.  We need a house, and we're paying him to help us find one.  You'd think he'd want us to get one so he can get his commission."

            "What did you tell him?"

            "I told him that he was lazy and if he didn't give me a list of houses to look at immediately that I would take my business elsewhere."

            Hawkeye was just glad that he wasn't there for that.  "So, do we have another realtor?"

            "No," she smiled triumphantly.  "We have a list of ten houses to look at tomorrow.  All in or around Tewksbury."

            "Wow," he smiled.  "In that case, I'm glad you went down there today."  Hawkeye looked at Emily, "Was the man scared?"  Emily shook her head yes.  She hated when her mother was mad.  "I bet he was."

            "Hey," she defended herself.  "At least now we're getting somewhere.  It's the end of September already.  So, tomorrow morning we have to be up in Tewksbury at eight."

            "Eight?  But tomorrow's Saturday.  I wanted to sleep in.  Now I'm going to have to get up earlier than I do for work."

            Margaret brought plates and silverware over to the table.  "You'll just have to take a nap or something."

            "That'll work too.  Wait," he said before she walked away.  She stopped and looked at him, "Can I have a kiss?"

            She smiled and bent down and kissed him.  Then she felt a little cubby hand on her cheek pushing her away.  She smiled at Emily.  "Ooh, you're such a little brat.  Are you ready for dinner?"

            Hawkeye put the baby in her highchair and helped Margaret bring the food over to the table.  They sat down and had dinner as a family, as they did every night.  Margaret was enjoying staying home with Emily and watching her develop.  Emily's vocabulary was expanding all the time and it made her seem so much older than Margaret was ready for her to be.  With Hawkeye and his constant chattering around all the time, Emily was starting to pick up on it.


	16. bye 16

            The next day they went to look at houses.  They met the realtor at eight and spent all morning looking at homes.  They took a break from looking at lunch time, and discussed the houses they had seen without the realtor around.  Then they went back and looked at a few more before two, and then headed back into the city.  Emily fell asleep, and stayed that way even after they got home.  Hawkeye laid the baby in her crib, and then went to talk to Margaret.

            She was sitting in the living room on their bed looking over the houses.  They had pictures of each house, telling all the details and a layout of each house.  He laid on his side next to her.  "What are you thinking?  Did we find a home?"

            "I'm not sure," she said.  She spread out a couple of houses on the bed so they could look at them together.  "What do you think?"

            "I like these three the best," he pointed.  "How about you?"

            "Me too," she agreed.

            "Wow, we actually agreed on something."  Margaret smiled at him.  They usually didn't agree on much, but they did agree on the important things.  "We can throw the rest of the houses out the window now that it's narrowed down to these three."

            Margaret studied the houses, "I don't know which I like better.  This one is closer to the interstate, which will make it easier for you to get to work.  But this one is closer to town.  And then this one is right in town, but I'm not sure I want that."

            "Me either," Hawkeye said.  "I don't want to live on a high traffic street.  I want the kids to be able to play in the front yard if they want to."

            "The kids?"  She smiled.

            He smiled, "Well, we both agreed that we'll have more.  I was just including them too."

            "That's very nice of you," she smiled.  "Okay," she tossed aside the one house.  "Then it's between these two."

            "It doesn't matter to me how long it takes to get to work.  Other than appearance, what's the difference between these two?"  

            "Well," she looked at the papers.  "This one has three bedrooms, and this one has four.  That really doesn't matter though."

            "Well it could.  How many more kids do you want?"

            "I don't know.  What difference does that make as long as we have three bedrooms?"

            "I guess it doesn't.  Kids can always share rooms.  Okay, so what else is different?"

            Margaret glanced at the papers again.  "The one outside of town has more property, and is more secluded than the other.  But the other one has plenty of property too.  I don't really know which one I want.  What about you?"

            "Hey, as long as we can have a bedroom and don't have to sleep in the living room, I'm all set.  But I do like that four bedroom one better.  It just seems more comfortable and set up better.  The other one was kind of choppy."

            "Yeah, but it seems so big for the three of us."  She did like it better though, and it was closer to town.  That way she and Emily could take a walk and get to know people easier than living way outside of town.

            "It won't always be the three of us.  I plan on filling that house with a bunch of kids just like the one we have already."

            Margaret smiled, "You do, huh?  How full do you want the house?"

            "If they all come out as good and cute as Emily, then I want a dozen of them."

            "Yeah right," she laughed.  "I can tell you right now, that that is not going to happen."

            "Okay, so maybe not a dozen, but I do want more.  Aside from the size of that house, how do you feel about?"

            "I love it.  I mean, what's not to love?  It's beautiful, and it's new."  The house had just been built, and they would be the first owners.

            "Is there anymore up there that we have to look at?"

            "Well he said something about having some on Tuesday for us to look at, but you're working, so I told him I would get back to him with a better time for us."

            "Listen, why don't you and Emily go and look at the houses he has.  If there's one that you want me to look at, then we can get the key and look at it on our own time.  We need to get out of this place as soon as possible.  I'm so sick of it."

            "You're telling me," she put the papers aside and lay down on the bed.  Hawkeye was on his side in the middle of the bed, and pulled himself up to be closer to his wife.  "I hate this place.  Emily and I have to get out of here and find something to do every morning, or else I'll go crazy.  Emily doesn't seem to mind it though."

            "Why would she?"  He smiled.  "The chubby little thing doesn't have to go far to get anything, not to mention she's the one with a bedroom."

            Margaret chuckled, and gave him a kiss.  "You know what else that house had that I really liked?"

            "What?"

            "A huge master bedroom and bathroom.  Did you see the tub in there?"  He shook his head no with a smile.  She was so excited.  "It was huge.  We could both fit in there."

            "Ooh, in that case, let's buy it."

            Margaret smiled at him.  "I really did love that house.  It was close enough to town to be near people, but also far enough away to have some privacy.  When I go up there on Tuesday, I'm going to take another look at it."

            "Okay, now that we have that figured out, let's have some fun."

            "Not now.  I'm too tired."

            Hawkeye shook his head, "Is sex all you ever think about?  I was talking about taking a nap."

            Margaret smiled, "That, I'm up for."  Margaret cuddled into him and he held her close as the two of the dozed off together.

            When Tuesday came around Margaret did just as she said she was going to do.  She and Emily went up to Tewksbury and looked at two more houses and then took another look at the four bedroom one that they had looked at on Saturday.  The more she saw that house, the more she wanted it.  She knew that all she had to do was say the word, and Hawkeye would agree to buy it, but she wanted him to see the other two.  They would both be living there for a long time.

            Hawkeye got out of work a little early on Friday, so they took a ride up and looked at the houses.  He could tell which one Margaret wanted, and he wanted to give her what she wanted.  It wasn't a big deal to him where he lived as long as Margaret was happy with it.

            When they were walking through the house Hawkeye decided to play a game with her.  "You know honey, the more I think about it, the more I don't like this place."  Margaret looked back at him with a surprised look on her face.  He had to keep himself from laughing.  "I think we should go with that two bedroom place."

            "What?"  She stopped in the middle of the kitchen.

            "Yeah," he said looking around the kitchen.  "You said it yourself.  This place is just too big for us."

            "We need at least three bedrooms.  What if we have a boy?  He'll need his own room."  She was disappointed that he didn't seem to like the house that she loved so much.

            "Ah, Emily's a handful, we don't really need anymore."  Margaret gave him the strangest look.  It was a combination of hurt and anger.

            "What the hell are you talking about?  It wasn't even a week ago that you said you wanted a dozen kids like her.  Where is she anyway?"  Hawkeye had been holding her looking through the house while Margaret went her own way.

            "She's looking around."

            "Pierce, there's stairs in here.  She'll fall."

            "Sorry.  Look, there she is," Emily walked around the corner.  "See how lost she looks in here.  It's too big for her."

            "She has a smile on her face," Margaret said.  "I thought you liked this house."

            "I do, I just like that other one better.  What about you?"

            "I didn't like it at all. All the rooms were tiny, and it's in the middle of town.  We both said that we didn't want that."  Margaret was trying to read his face, because something didn't seem right.  "Are you sure?"  He shook his head yes.  She was disappointed to say the least, but what could she do?  "Why don't we get the three bedroom out in the country?"

            He was surprised to hear that.  He didn't expect her to compromise so easily.  He just wanted to get a rise out of her, but it didn't work.  "I'm just playing with you.  I love this house too."

            Margaret's jaw dropped and then clenched in anger.  "Pierce, you're an ass.  Why did you do that?"

            "Margaret," he said walking towards her.  "I was just kidding.  It's not like I was going to go as far as to buy another house."  He tried to put his arms around her, but she moved away.

            "You know how much getting a house means to me!"

            He did know.  He knew that she never had a place to call home, and that this was her first real home.  She wanted her child to have a place to call home and not move around.  "I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to upset you, honey.  I want this house almost as much as you do."

            Margaret's eyes narrowed and she shook her head.  "I can't believe you."  She glanced over at Emily and saw her heading out the room.  Margaret followed her, and sure enough Emily was headed for the stairs.  She let Emily climb the stairs and followed behind her.  She wanted to take another look at the bedrooms.

            "Where go?"  Emily asked when she reached the top of the stairs.

            "In there," Margaret pointed.  

            "Dis?"  Emily asked when they entered the room.

            Margaret smiled and picked her daughter up, "This is going to be your room.  What do you think?"

            "No bed."

            Margaret chuckled, "Not yet, but we'll get you one.  We're going to move here, and this will be your new room.  It's nice and big, huh?"  Emily shook her head yes and turned her head when she saw her father come in the room.

            "Mine," Emily smiled at him.

            "What's yours?"  Hawkeye asked.

            "This room," Margaret answered impatiently.  

            "Why not the one closest ours?  We can hear her better if she's in that room," he pointed to the room on the other side of the wall.

            "This one is bigger, and it's perfect for a little girl."  It had a big window facing the back with a window seat.  "She has a good pair of lungs on her.  She always makes sure we can hear her."

            "This is nice.  I was thinking that we could have the walls painted before we move in. I know you don't like everything white."

            "Are you trying to get back on my good side?"

            He grinned at her and moved closer.  "You know I didn't do it to hurt you."

            "I know," she finally smiled.

            He leaned in and gave her a kiss.  Emily pushed him away from her mother like she always did.  He gave Emily a kiss on the cheek.  "I love you, you little brat." Emily smiled brightly at him and held her hands out to her father.  "Why do you always have to do that?"

            Margaret looked around the empty room a little more.  "I'm going to take you up on that offer.  We should have some rooms painted before we move in.  That way we don't have to do it later.  It'll be ready for us."

            "Do you know what you want?"  Hawkeye asked as he walked over to the window and looked out at the backyard.

            "In some rooms I do.  We should go to the hardware store and get some paint samples."

            "We can do that.  When we get back home, I'll call the realtor and tell him this is the house we want.  Do you like this house, munchkin?"  He asked his daughter.  "You're going to have a lot more room to play."

            "Go side?"  She pointed out the window.

            "No," Margaret said.  "We have to go, honey.  We have things we have to do before dinner.  Are you ready to go?"

            "Where go?"  Emily asked her mother.

            "We're going to go to the store, and then go home.  Mommy and Daddy have things we need to do."  Margaret brushed Emily's hair back.  "Ready?"  She asked Hawkeye.

            "Yep, but you drive."

            "Okay," Margaret said.  She had Emily's coat on her arm, and handed it to Hawkeye.  

            They decided to go home first to call the realtor and tell him that they wanted the house.  He said that it was theirs, but he couldn't do anything until Monday morning.  They had figured that much, but Margaret was going to call him on Monday to check up on him and see what they had to sign and when.  After they made the call, they went to the hardware store and picked up a paint samples and a few other things, then they went to a pizza parlor and had dinner.

            "Mommy, more," Emily said when she ate all the cheese off of her piece of pizza.

            Margaret looked at her daughter, "No.  Eat what you have, and then you can have more."  Emily knew her mother was going to say that.  She always made her eat all her food, but that didn't stop the baby from trying to get what she wanted.  If she worked hard enough, she could get it.

            "What about this for the living room?"  Hawkeye held out a paint color.

            "I don't know.  I think I want something dark in there.  So much light comes in through those windows, that a dark color would look really good.  I want it to be comfortable."

            "Okay.  All we know so far is that Emily's room is going to be pink."

            "Maybe purple," Margaret said with a smile.  "I love that lavender color."

            "Okay, do we know what we want for sure in any room?"  He took a bite of pizza.

            "Yes.  I want the room closest to ours to be a pale yellow.  That way when we do have another baby, the room will be painted and it won't matter whether it's a boy or a girl."

            "That's very good thinking," he smiled.  "I hate painting.  I know how we can settle Emily's room.  Just ask her."

            "She doesn't know her colors," Margaret said.  "She's eighteen months old."

            "Just hold up the colors; she'll point to one.  It's going to be her room anyway."  He held up the two colors.  "Emily, which on do you like?"

            "Dat," she pointed to the purple.

            Hawkeye smiled at Margaret.  "There you go.  She wants this."  He gave her the lavender paper.  "What about our room?  We need something romantic."

            She smiled at him.  He was really into this.  She was surprised, but loved it.  "Don't worry about that.  How do you feel about getting a new bedroom set?"

            "We can get new everything if you want."

            "Not everything.  We have some of my stuff in storage.  We could use my bedroom set to put in the guest room.  We have my old living room set too, and that's practically brand new, and the baby has an entire set, but she will eventually need to move to a bed."

            She was starting to ramble on, and as much as he was enjoying it, he stopped her.  "Whoa honey.  We can do whatever you want.  You saw how I decorate, so I'm leaving all the big decisions about that up to you."

            She smiled at him and wanted to kiss him, but he was sitting across the table and so she couldn't reach him without leaning over and making a display of it.  She didn't want to do that in a restaurant either.  "Okay.  I'm just so excited.  We're finally going to be out of that tiny apartment and into a home of our own."

            "Don't get too excited yet.  It may be a little while until we can move in.  We have to wait for the closing, and then we need the painters to get in there before we do."

            "I know," she said waving her hand to dismiss the thought.  "Hopefully we'll be so busy getting things for the house that time will fly.  Did you have anything that you wanted to do tomorrow?"

            "No," he said.  He was sure that she was going to ask him to go furniture shopping or something with her.  "What do you want to do?"

            "I want to start looking at furniture.  I know you don't want to go with me, so I thought you and Emily could stay at home."

            "Are you going in the morning or afternoon?"  He took a bite of pizza.

            She smiled curiously, "Does it matter?"

            "I was just hoping to sleep in this Saturday.  That's all."

            Margaret shook her head.  "I'll go later in the morning.  But, when do I get to sleep in?  You always sleep in, and I have to get up with the baby."

            "What are you talking about?  You're up before she is every morning."

            "I might want to sleep late one day, so you owe me."

            "Okay," he smiled.  "I owe you.  You just tell me when, and I'll be more than happy to let you sleep in."

            "Alright," she said knowing that the odds of that happening were slim.    
  


            "Done," Emily said to her mother.  "More, pease."

            Margaret gave the child another small piece of pizza.  "There you go, baby."

            "Tank you," Emily smiled as she began to pick the cheese off the pizza.

            "You're welcome," her mother said.  

            The next day Margaret went out and spent hours shopping and looking around.  She didn't want to buy anything big because she didn't have a date for them to be able to move it, and she wanted time to look around and see what other places offered.

            It was another four weeks until they could finally move into their new house.  It took three weeks for the closing to go through, and another week for the painters to get done.  Margaret thought the painters could have been faster, but they decided to take their time.  Moving wasn't a problem.  Bob helped them move the things they had in their apartment and in storage, and his wife watched the baby for the day.  She had sat with Emily a couple of times before, and had a child about Emily's age that Emily played with.

            They had most of the new furniture delivered to the house the day they moved in; which was wonderful.  They didn't have to move it themselves, and the movers were the ones that lugged the heavy furniture around while Margaret told them where to put it.  They would even move it around the room if Margaret wasn't satisfied with where it was.  They didn't have to do that, but were kind enough to, so Margaret gave them an extra tip.

            The first night they spent there, the only thing that had a home was the furniture that was delivered.  Even Emily's crib wasn't set up.  All her things were in her room, but nothing was put together.  Hawkeye and Margaret's new bed and bedroom set wasn't going to get delivered until the next day, so they didn't have their bed either.  Hawkeye and Bob had moved Margaret's old bedroom set upstairs to the room that was going to be the guest room, so they slept in there the first night.  Margaret still had Emily's old playpen, so they set it up in her new room, and she had a bed for the night.

            The next day the rest of the furniture was delivered, and then they spent the rest of the day setting up rooms.  They started with the bedrooms, and then moved to the kitchen.  Those were the three most important rooms in the house.  By the end of the night, everything was in the room that it belonged in.  The walls were still empty, but that was something Margaret planned to fix during the week to come.

            Since they still had only one car, Margaret took Sunday and used the car to go shopping for things for the house.  Hawkeye was going to have to have the car during the week, so the weekend was the only time that she could go.  It also allowed her to go alone because Hawkeye stayed at home with the baby.

            Margaret had been gone all day, and wasn't back for dinner either.  She told Hawkeye that she might not be, and told him to make dinner and go ahead and eat.  So, he made dinner for himself and the baby, and they ate together.  

            "Mommy home?"  Emily asked her father as he lifted her out of her highchair.

            "She should be home soon," Hawkeye told his daughter.  "I wish she would call and let us know.  I'm getting worried about her."  He looked at Emily and noticed how dirty she was.  "How do you get so messy?"

            "Mommy go?"  She asked.  She wasn't used to being without her mother all day anymore.  Two months ago she was, but never liked it, so it didn't take her long to get used to being with her mother all the time.  Now she wasn't used to it, and didn't really like it.  She was still sleeping when her mother left, and now it was dark outside and she was a getting tired.

            "Mommy will be home soon," he assured the child.  "You need a bath tonight.  How about I give you one now, and then when Mommy gets home you can just stay right in her arms?  It sounds good to me.  Mommy will appreciate that too, and if you understood what I was saying, then so would you."  Hawkeye took the baby and gave her a bath.

            When Margaret came home, she had her hands full of bags, and the car filled with more.  She walked into the front door and noticed that it was quiet in there.  "I'm home," she hollered, not sure where her family was.

            Emily was still in the bathtub, but heard her mother yell.  She looked up at her father and smiled.  "Mommy home!"

            "Yes," he smiled at her excitement.  "Up here in the bathroom," he yelled loud enough so Margaret could hear him.

            Emily held her hands up, "Out."

            Margaret walked into the bathroom to see Hawkeye wrapping Emily in her little pink towel.  "Hi, baby," she smiled looking at Emily.

            "Mommy!"

            Margaret took the child into her arms and gave her a hug and a kiss.  "I missed you today.  Were you a good girl?"  Emily smiled and laid her head down on her mother's should.

            Hawkeye gave Margaret a kiss on the cheek.  "She was terrific."

            "What kind of kiss was that?  I've been gone all day, and you give me a kiss like you would give your daughter."

            Hawkeye smiled and gave her a real kiss.  Emily took notice and pushed her father away.  He looked at her and she smiled, "Mine."  And wrapped her arms around Margaret's neck.

            "You're a little brat."

            "Mine," she said again.

            Margaret smiled at the two of them, and made her way to Emily's bedroom.  "What did you get?"  Hawkeye asked.

            "A lot of stuff," she laid Emily on the changing table.  "Do you wanna go unload the car while I get the baby dressed?"

            "Sure," he gave her a kiss on the cheek and then left the room.

            "I missed you today," Margaret said to the baby as she dried her off.  "I bought you some new things for your new room.  And I got you some new clothes for the winter.   I can't wait to see you in them.  You're going to look so cute!"  Emily smiled up at her mother as she was getting diapered and clothed.  "Did you have fun today?  How did you like spending the day with Daddy in our new house?  Did you miss me?"

            Emily smiled, "Miss you."

            Margaret bent down and gave Emily a kiss, "I love you, sweetie."  Margaret snapped the last snap on the child's pajamas, and picked her up.  "Do you wanna go see what Mommy got today?"  Emily shook her head yes.  "First, Mommy needs to get something to eat.  We'll let Daddy bring everything in, and then we'll look at it."

            Emily stayed in her mother's arms the rest of the night.  She missed her mother when she was gone.  She fell asleep cradled comfortably in the loving arms that she felt so secure in.  Just when she would get used to something, something seemed to change.  The only thing that was consistent was that her mother was always there.  As long as things stayed that way, she would be okay.

            For the next few weeks, Margaret decorated the house the way she wanted it.  She had never been so happy or comfortable in her whole life.  When she found out that she was pregnant with Emily, she felt like she was destined to be single forever.  She didn't think she would be able to find someone to love both her and Emily.  By the time that Emily was one, she was okay with the idea that she might never get married.  She had become comfortable with it.

            Now she was married to the love of her life, and the father of her daughter.  He loved Emily like no one else on earth could.  Margaret had what she had longed to have her entire life.  She had a little girl that gave her complete and undivided love.  That little person depended on her, and wanted her.  She also had a husband that loved her more than she would ever know.  He would do anything for her, and she knew that.  She knew that these were the best days of her life.


	17. bye 17

December 30, 1955

            Margaret's mother and sister went to Massachusetts to visit over Christmas.  Kate had moved to Connecticut in November.  Emily was very happy to see her grandmother.  She played shy at first, but warmed up quickly.  She was very sad to see her grandmother go, and it was hard for Kate to leave her, but she had to.

            Kate and Abby left the day after Christmas, and then things went back to normal.  Hawkeye went back to work, and the house became quiet again.  As much as Hawkeye loved his mother and sister-in-law, he was glad that they were gone.  They were staying at his house, and he missed coming home to just his daughter and wife.  

            Margaret and Emily were in the living room playing with some of Emily's new toys.  Margaret kept watching the clock; she was waiting for her husband to get home.

            "Mommy," Emily said trying to get her mother's attention.  "Mommy."

            Margaret looked at her little girl, "Sorry.  Where were we?"

            "Daddy home?"  She asked.  She knew that it was about time for him to come home.  She figured that her mother was waiting for that.

            "He should be here soon," Margaret said.  "Mommy's going to go start dinner. You can play for a while, okay?"

            "Okay," Emily smiled watching her mother get up.

            Margaret didn't feel like cooking anything elaborate.  In fact, she didn't feel like cooking anything at all.  She ended up cleaning out the leftovers from Christmas instead of cooking dinner.  

            She heard Hawkeye's car pull up and his door shut.  She quickly wiped her hands on a towel, and then went to the door.  She met him at the door.  "Hi," she said with a huge smile.

            "Hi, baby," he said smiling at her beautiful smile.  "What are you so happy about?"  

            "I'm just happy to see you," she said.  She took his coat for him and hung it up.  Then she gave him a kiss.

            Hawkeye looked at her strangely, "That's not your normal 'hello' kiss.  What's going on?"

            She smiled at him, "I'm pregnant!"

            Hawkeye's eyes went wide, and his heart started beating faster.  "You're what?"

            "A baby," she smiled.  "We're having a baby."  She wrapped her arms around him, "What do you think?"

            He put his arms around her and smiled.  "A baby, are you sure?"

            "Uh huh," she smiled up at him.

            "A baby, wow!  I can't believe this."  He gave her a kiss.  "Are you happy?"

            "Are you kidding?"  She still had a huge smile on her face.  "I'm so happy!  It's different than when I found out I was pregnant with Emily.  With her, I had so many mixed feelings.  All I feel now is happiness.  Are you happy?"

            "Hell, yes," he smiled.  "We're one more kid closer to a dozen."  Margaret smiled and shook her head.  He held her and gave her a long loving kiss.  "I love you."

            "I love you," she said laying her head on his chest.

            "Daddy," Emily said happily when she walked into the foyer.

            Hawkeye let go of his wife and picked up their chubby blonde daughter.  "Hi, Munchkin.  Did Mommy tell you the good news?"

            "I didn't tell her," Margaret said.  

            Hawkeye gave Emily a kiss on the cheek.  "You are going to be a big sister soon.  Mommy is going to have a baby."

            Emily looked at her mother and then back to her father.  "Me baby."

            Hawkeye and Margaret smiled at her.  "You are a baby," Margaret said.  "You're a big baby, and Mommy is going to have a little tiny baby."

            "That's right," Hawkeye said.  "You're going to be a great big sister.  I know you are."

            Emily smiled at her parents.  She didn't know exactly what they were talking about, but she knew it was good news.  Her parents were very happy, and that was a good thing.  "Pay me?"  She asked her father.

            "Yeah, I'll go play with you."  He gave Margaret another kiss.  Emily tried to push her mother away.  Hawkeye looked at the baby, "I'm not done."  Emily looked at him strangely when he went back to kiss her mother. 

            "Mommy, no."

            Margaret pulled away from her husband.  She looked at Emily with an amused look.  "What do you mean 'no'?"

            Emily leaned against her father, "My Daddy."

            Margaret smiled at her daughter.  Emily had become very close to her father, just like Margaret had hoped.  "Okay, you and Daddy go play."

            "Mommy pay too," Emily said.

            "Yeah, come on Mommy," Hawkeye said.  "Let's go play with our daughter.  We better give her a lot of attention now, because she won't be an only child for long."  Margaret smiled and joined her husband and daughter.

             Over the months, Hawkeye watched with amazement as his wife's stomach grew.  He had never seen anything more amazing.  The child inside of his wife was a little person that they made together.  He saw that when he looked at Emily, but he never got to witness the changes taking place in Margaret when Emily was growing inside.  He felt even more protective over Margaret now than when they lived in a war zone.  

            Emily seemed to be growing and changing everyday.  She began to speak in complete sentences, and became more independent.  By the time she turned two, she wanted to do everything on her own.  She didn't want help, she was potty trained, and she didn't have a bottle anymore; all that made her seem so much older than her parents were ready for.  

            The baby came at the end of July.  Hawkeye was in a panic for most of the month, and Margaret was in a bad mood.  She was sick of being big, and feeling tired all the time.  She couldn't do much with Emily anymore, and that drove her crazy.  Emily didn't seem to mind though.  As long as her mother was around, she was happy.  It was another story when Margaret went into the hospital to have the baby though.  She was in there for a few days, and Emily wasn't permitted to see her mother.  She had seen her mother everyday of her life, and she didn't like not being able to see her.

            They were all very happy the day that Margaret and the new baby came home.  Margaret hated staying in the hospital, and hated being away from her daughter even more.  Hawkeye was excited to bring his wife and new baby home, and be able to take care of them himself.  

            Emily was elated to have her mother back home with her.  She was a little apprehensive of the new baby at first, but warmed up quickly.  Soon she was helping her mother get the diapers, prepare the bottles, dress the baby, and talk to the baby.  She liked her new little play mate, and the older her new baby sister got, the more Emily liked it.

October 1956

            Margaret was standing in the doorway to the living room watching her girls interact.  Emily was sitting on the floor making three month old Ashley laugh.  Margaret loved to see the two of them together.  It reminded her of her own sister, and the bond that they had. 

            Hawkeye walked up beside her to see what she was doing.  She glanced at him and smiled and then went back to looking at her daughters.  He smiled at her and put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him.  "Look what we have.  Why did we ever say goodbye in Korea?"

            Margaret turned and wrapped her arms around his waist, causing him to wrap both of his arms around her.  "So we could have all this."  

            He looked at her strangely.  "What are you talking about?"

            She smiled at him, "You said it yourself; you couldn't have handled the news of Emily at that time.  If I would have told you, it just would have pushed us farther apart.  We had to say goodbye to find out what we were missing."  

            He leaned down and  kissed her, "You're so smart."  She smiled and kissed him again.  

            Emily noticed her parents in the doorway and said, "Mommy, I need you."  That was her new thing; she always _needed her mother when her parents were kissing._

            Hawkeye broke the kiss and looked at their two and a half year old.  "Mommy's busy.  I'm kissing her."  He went back to kissing her and Emily looked at him strangely.  

            The baby let out a cry just as his lips touched Margaret's.  Margaret smiled, and moved out of his arms.  She  went over and picked up the baby, "What's the matter pretty girl?  Are you not getting enough attention?  You're a little ham, aren't you?  Just like your father.  You have to be the center of attention." 

            Hawkeye took Ashley from his wife, "You are just like your big sister."  The baby smiled up at him with the same smile that she shared with her mother and big sister.  "You both have to interrupt when I'm kissing your mother."  Margaret smiled at him and the baby.  "Why don't our kids like it when we kiss?"  

            "I don't know," she chuckled.

                                                                                                                   THE END                                


End file.
